Chicago (August 6th, 2017)

Chicago

August 6th, 2017

The final show of my brief trip to NYC was the classical musical staple: ‘Chicago’. After finally seeing the movie for the first time last spring, and thereafter performing in a short excerpt of the musical, I was anxious to see the staged version.

Seat/Venue Review: Chicago is presented at the Ambassador’s Theatre, and I was sat in the centre of row A (third from the front), Orchestra, and they cost $89. It was an excellent seat, and extremely well priced (Chicago offers cheaper seats for matiees). Close enough to appreciate the little details, but not so close as to miss the bigger picture.

Overall, Chicago was an interesting, albeit bizarre, production. Though I wouldn’t count it amongst my favourite shows, I nevertheless enjoyed the experience.

Chicago featured Charlotte D’Amboise in the role of Roxie Hart, with Lana Gordon as Velma Kelly. D’Amboise gave an energetic and humorous performance. A clever actress with excellent comedic timing, D’Amboise spiced up lengthy monologues with improvisation, and regularly pulled particular audience members into her performance (including one very embarrassed fourteen year old boy). D’Amboise’s voice was solid, although unremarkable, but it was really her acting and interesting character development of Roxie that made her stand out onstage.

Gordon as Velma Kelly was D’Amboise’s polar opposite, which, in some ways, worked, as they acted as each other’s foils. However, when Gordon was performing either as a soloist or part of the ensemble, she stuck out for all the wrong reasons. Her voice has a whiny, nasal tone to it, making the iconic “All That Jazz” a painful experience. She also appears to lack a dance background, which really stuck out in “Cell Block Tango”, where it felt as though the very skilled ensemble was being held back by Gordon’s lack of ability. A strong, well-rounded Velma is essential to the show’s success, and here Gordon fell seriously short.

Chicago was full of a number of strong performers; the majority of the ensemble were excellent dancers, and were able to deftly move between characters (and occasionally act as narrators). It was an unusual directorial choice to keep all of the actors onstage during the show, but the ensemble managed this well, never looking bored or distracting from the main action. Standout performances came from ‘Mama’, who is a vocal powerhouse with superb comedic timing. I also enjoyed ensemble members Jessica Ernest, Robyn Hurder, and Jennifer Dunne. Dunne (a swing, playing Hudyak at this performance) blended into the background for a while, but in her two minute death scene, proved herself an incredible actress by delivering and emotional and heartbreaking hanging. I truly felt for the character in those moments, not an easy feat considering the character doesn’t speak English. Dunne expertly communicated all of her character’s feelings (heartbreak, desperation, sadness) in body language and facial expression. Ernest and Hurder were entertaining and engaging performers, full of personality and excellent dancers. You couldn’t take your eyes off of them in ensemble dances, and in their short individual scenes, both proved strong actors as well. A number of the male ensemble members, though skilled dancers, looked almost bored onstage. Whether this was a directorial choice, I can’t say, but it seems likely. I think it was a shame to not allow some personality and acting in the male ensemble, if that was the case .

I really liked how the set was done; it was cabaret-style, with the musicians onstage and regularly interacting with the actors. The conductor was regularly part of the plot, occasionally narrating or providing extra information during scenes. I was concerned that the black on black on black of the costumes, curtains, and set would blend together too much, but lighting was done such that it wasn’t too much of a problem. For the most part, the costumes were adorned with glitter and rhinestones while the set was matte, and the back of the ‘bandstand’ had a gold glittery strip around it, helping to add some dimension and depth to the set.

Altogether, Chicago was a skillful and innovative piece of theatre. Though it featured a number of exceptional performers, there were also some glaring weaknesses, particularly from one of the leading ladies.

★★★