MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 14B
THE TOP TEN – #5
NOTE: Due to the
length of this entry, I'm dividing it into two parts. This is part two of two.
Overshadowed by A Chorus Line
throughout its first incarnation, Chicago
nevertheless was a bona fide financial success with a more-than-respectable 936
performances under its belt. When it closed in August, 1977, most folks thought
that would be it. They thought wrong.
Jump nearly twenty years to May,1996. Encores series, New York City
Center. A staged concert version of Chicago
rocks the critics. When the production is transferred to Broadway a few months
later in November, the critical reaction is, once again, rapturous. And when
the 1997 Tony Awards roll around, there's lots of Tony love as Chicago wins six Tonys, a record at the
time for a revival. One of the wins was for Ann Reinking for Best Choreography,
an odd choice since what was onstage was essentially a recreation of the Fosse
original choreography. The revival made its costs back in a few short months.
As of January 14, 2018, the revival of Chicago has played 8795 performances, with no evidence of slowing down.
That's just over twenty-one years. That's 2658 performances, or more than six
years, longer than the original production of its 1975 rival, A Chorus Line. I guess he who laughs
last does laugh best. But,
here's the deal. And I'll only say this once. There is virtually no
difference between the revival and the original. Got that?
The revival has fewer set pieces and costumes, and the costumes exude a bit
more sex, but there isn't any real change in the show itself. A nip here, a
tuck there, however it's not as though Walter Bobbie and Ann Reinking
reinvented the wheel. The show has always been a biting satire about justice,
celebrity and the American way starting with the original 1927 play by Maurine
Dallas Watkins. In 1996, however, when the revival opened in New York, the OJ
Simpson trial was fresh in everyone's minds and made the show even more
relevant and timely than when it first opened.
So what changed? When the revival played New York City Center, the New York Times theatre first-stringer
Ben Brantley's review rather neatly summed up the differences between the
"Jets/Sharks" of the two great dance musicals, Chicago and A Chorus Line.
Exactly what I think, and Mr. Brantley says it better than I ever could, so,
take it away, Ben! "Chicago was,
in a sense, the evil twin of its rival musical, as acerbic and cold-hearted as
the other was sentimental and warm. … A
Chorus Line was built on the premise that if you scratch the surface of an
entertainer, you'll find a trembling, vulnerable child; Chicago scratched that same surface to uncover a manipulative
egomaniac. The anthem of the one show was 'What I Did for Love'; of the other, 'Razzle
Dazzle.' The bleating confessions of A
Chorus Line were devastatingly echoed in a throwaway line in Chicago: '…none of us got enough love in
our childhoods. And, that's show biz, kid.'"
But other factors were in play as well. In 1996, Chicago wasn't overshadowed by a landmark musical (A Chorus Line), a show everyone wanted
to see. In 1996, Chicago was
the show everyone wanted to see. Finally, no longer the bridesmaid and very
definitely the bride. Also, the original production of Chicago had Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera as its leads, two of the
finest dancers ever, and their star
power, individually and collectively, and, to a lesser degree, that of Jerry
Orbach, were a potent box office engine, with both ladies becoming identified
with those roles. As part one entries show, it was frankly hard to replace them.
The 1996 cast of Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth, and James Naughton certainly
wasn't lacking in talent, but none of those three names listed above a title
cause a run at the box office. And, by 1996, in large part thanks to Chicago's nemesis, A Chorus Line, and the invasion of the big British musical, it
wasn't a necessity to have big box office names to sell tickets, a philosophy that
applies today (see Hamilton, for
example). The show itself was the box office draw. It also doesn't hurt that
revival lead producers Barry and Fran Weissler are geniuses at casting stars
from TV, film, music, and reality TV for very limited runs which give the show
financial boosts and press visibility and keep Chicago running. But, arguably, the most important factor, as
mentioned in the previous paragraph, is that the times finally caught up with Chicago. The big news of the 70s were Watergate, Nixon's resignation, and
the end of the Vietnam War, and, let's be honest, none of that was terribly
sexy. By the mid-late 90s, we had the OJ Simpson trial, a razzle dazzle if
there ever was one, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, finally proving that politics
could be sexy, and the Menendez
brothers' verdict, another media circus. Chicago
was in its element. And with all that is going on in our troubled Trump times today, could
it be that the brilliant, cynical, razzle-dazzly Chicago is the perfect musical for our time?
– Shubert Theatre,
Chicago
Belle Calaway was filling in for Charlotte d'Amboise. Pretty classy way to announce it.
July, 1997/August, 1997. Returning in Broadway and Tony
Awards triumph to its namesake city, the First National Tour of the revival
version of Chicago was welcomed home
with open arms. And deservedly so, for this production was crackerjack good.
From the moment the band started the overture to the final curtain, this was a
tight, danced-to-perfection show loaded with top drawer talent. Jasmine Guy
played Velma Kelly. A Different World's
Jasmine Guy? Really? She can sing and dance? Really? Yes, really. Petite and
streetwise, she was a powerful Velma, singing and dancing with an assurance and
strength that delightedly surprised the Shubert audience. Dreamgirls' Obba Babatundé
was an elegant and slick Billy Flynn. Carol Woods launched her considerable
pipes as Matron "Mama" Morton, Ron Orbach played a convincing Amos,
and newcomer M.E.Spencer was a delightful Mary Sunshine. Top-billed Charlotte
d'Amboise was out at the preview performance we caught in July. Earlier in the
tour, she had injured herself and had been out for several weeks as torn
tendons healed. In her place was her understudy, Belle Calaway who gave a
terrific performance as Roxie. When we returned to the show a few weeks later,
the divine d'Amboise was on hand. And truly terrific as Calaway had been,
Charlotte d'Amboise brought her über-talent
and owned the stage as Roxie. She was sensational. In fact, so was the entire production. – at
the Shubert Theatre, Chicago
Casting Sidebars: In this production Deidre Goodwin played Annie.
We would see her six years later in New York as Velma. As the tour progressed,
cast changes occurred, of course. One of the more interesting ones was for
Matron "Mama" Morton when Lea DeLaria took over the role. (!!)
Chicago's Amos, Ron Orbach, was originally cast as Franz Liebkind in The Producers, but blew out his knee
during tech rehearsals before its out-of-town opening in, ironically, Chicago.
(edited from an earlier post)
August, 1999. Since Bob and I both love Chicago, we were delighted to discover it was playing in Sydney during
our visit there. A mirror of the 1996 Broadway revival, this production was
chock-a-block with Australian musical theatre favorites including Maria
Mercedes, a former Norma Desmond, as Matron "Mama" Morton, John
Diedrich, whom I saw in London nineteen years earlier as Curly in Oklahoma!,
as a suave and handsome Billy Flynn, the totally divine Caroline O'Connor as a
scintillating Velma, and Cynthia Gibb, making her professional debut as Roxie.
Some debut role! This show started our love affair with the drop-dead talented
O'Connor whose Velma was simply divine. Flawlessly danced, sung and acted, this
remains by far the sexiest version of the show I've seen with smoking hot men
and women in the ensemble who knew how to show off William Ivey Long's costumes
to the best sensual advantage. One curious note: an understudy for the understudy
stepped in for Mary Sunshine at the performance seen. Having both the listed
performer and the understudy out is unusual in and of itself. What was even
more unusual in this case was that the role was played that evening by a
female. This meant the big reveal in Act Two was cut from the performance
for obvious reasons, and the workaround was fine, but strangely and
inexplicably, Mary Sunshine's song was cut as well. (Not enough time to get the
understudy's understudy up to speed on the song?) The song establishes Mary
Sunshine's character, but it's not crucial to the show and truthfully wasn't
missed. In the show, a newspaper headline proclaims "Roxie Rocks
Chicago!" Well, all I can say is "Sydney Rocked Chicago!”
– at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney
Sidebar: Sydney's Capitol
Theatre is a gorgeous theatre seating just under 2100. Opening in 1916, it is
one of Sydney's premiere venues for musical theatre.
– Ambassador
Theatre, New York
The Book of Mormon plays across the street at the Eugene O'Neill. Still consistently selling out.
July, 2003. Press night for Melanie Griffith. Bob and I stood on the
cancellation line for over one hour. Patience has its rewards, however, and we
snagged eighth row center tickets, being seated literally a minute or so before
the overture. Antonio (Banderas) was in the row ahead of us on the aisle; Chita
(Rivera) and Jane (Krakowski) were two rows in front of us. We all hobnobbed
during the interval. Uh, well, no, but I did congratulate Krakowski on her
recent Tony win and got a glittering smile and "thank you." So, you
may ask, how did our favorite "Working Girl" fare in the challenging
role of Roxie Hart? Well, her singing was shaky and her dancing, in the
dumbed-down choreography, was shakier still, but, damn, she
actually pulled it off. She was warm, funny, vulnerable, and ultimately
endearing. A stage neophyte, she used both her comedic instincts and star
wattage to connect with the audience, skills that veterans don't always have.
We were impressed. Deidre Goodwin was a dazzling Velma and could easily have
overpowered her co-star when they danced together, but didn't. They were having
fun together and it showed. Let me hasten to add that Goodwin's and the
ensemble's choreography was not dumbed-down.
Brent Barrett was a suave and sexy Billy, Camille Saviola gave us a solid Mama
Morton, and P.J. Benjamin and D. Sabella provided professional support as Amos
and Mary Sunshine. Griffith won over the critics and gave the show a major
box-office boost. We had a grand time. – at the Ambassador Theatre, New York
Sidebar:
Talented
Belle Calaway, see Shubert Theatre entry, was the standby for Roxie and Mama
Morton.
October, 2005. We took niece Colleen and nephew Greg to see Chicago, now starring Brooke Shields as
Roxie. Yes, she's tall and yes, she's Brooke Shields, but she was also quite
good in the role. She had an unexpected killer sense of comic timing, a decent
voice, danced the role competently, and had a great rapport with the audience,
especially during "Roxie." For Bob and me, however, the draw
was Debra Monk as Mama Morton. We're big fans. We will see her in pretty much
anything. And she didn't disappoint. She killed as Mama Morton. Clarke Peters
(Billy), P.J. Benjamin (Amos), and R. Lowe (Mary Sunshine) completed this
excellent cast. Luba Mason, the listed Velma, was out that day and
"second" understudy Solange Sandy was announced at curtain. At bows,
Shields told the audience that we saw Sandy's first ever performance as Velma.
Couldn't prove it by us; she was wonderful.
- at the Ambassador Theatre, New York
It's hard to believe it's been over twelve years since we've visited the
Merry Murderesses of the Cook County Jail and their compatriots. After
twenty-one years on Broadway, it still continues to do well at the box office
and shows no signs of slowing down. It's not uncommon for past cast members to
return to the show. In fact, Charlotte d'Amoise, twenty years after we
applauded her Roxie at Chicago's Shubert Theatre, is the current Roxie at the
Ambassador (as of 1/15/2018). More than any other show, Chicago
is Bob Fosse's enduring legacy. Folks will be dancing those steps, and singing
those marvelous Kander and Ebb songs for a long time to come.
And so concludes, for now at least, our visits to the Cook County Jail.
He had it coming….
©
2018Jeffrey Geddes
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