Theater Review Part Deux: CHICAGO

by Shawn Parikh

I’ll admit I was a little hyped to see CHIGAGO: It was my birthday when I saw it, I had seen the movie quite a number of times, I actually know the music, and there had been so much press about Lisa Rinna starring as Roxie. On the other hand, I was pretty skeptical that Rinna, a dancing soap star, was playing the central role with little to no experience in theatre. The show itself is entertaining and crowd-pleasing, and this tour helps keep it that way. I knew nothing would be ground-breaking about this show, so you just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the production.

The first reason the show is so entertaining is the famous Kander & Ebb score coupled with that famous Fosse choreography. Limbs and gestures pop to the sensual, jazzy music and you wait to see the performers dance to those popular numbers: “All That Jazz”, “Cell Block Tango”, “Roxie”, and “Razzle Dazzle”. The music and choreography was always right-on. And the costumes (William Ivey Long) were mostly all black, short and/or see-through, and gave the production steady eye-candy.

So the big question is: How did Lisa Rinna do? Honestly, I went in with a lot of cynicism, but I really got used to her style by the end. She plays most of the humor directly for the audience with very stagy one-liners, which makes it campy. Her character lives in her own world, and Rinna stays true to this. She even is able to have a heartfelt moment towards the end of the show. And her “Dancing with the Stars” training really paid off and made her numbers spectacular, especially “Roxie” and “Me and My Baby.”

Anyone I have ever talked to about any production of CHIGAGO always says Velma steals the show. This production is no different. Terra C. MacLeod is a triple threat with her perfect limbs, strong voice, and precise choreography. When she begins the show with “All That Jazz,” you know the show is just going to keep getting better and better. She succeeds in impressing with “I Can’t Do It Alone” and “When Velma Takes the Stand.”

Tom Wopat plays Billy Flynn, the greasy, greedy lawyer. His songs (“All I Care About” and “Razzle Dazzle”) were phenomenal to look at and provided the most spectacle because of the ensemble, however, his dialogue and presence was quite bland and boring.

Standouts in the show were Carol Woods as Matron “Mama” Morton who shows off her vocal talent in “When You’re Good To Mama”. Also, Mama’s frankness and Velma’s disgust in “Class” made the song hilarious. Eric Leviton adds just the right amount of pity to his character, Amos, to make him the one I felt for the most in the show, especially during “Mister Cellophane”. R. Bean as Mary Sunshine was hysterically over-the-top and incomprehensible most of the show, but the performer really got you laughing. Finally, one actor, Christophe Caballero, demonstrated his acting chops by playing the entire jury. He was able to make each character distinctly funny in his/her own way.

The ensemble held the show together, and it was their talent that provided the most entertainment, proven by “Cell Block Tango” and “All that Jazz”.

This show is a nice two hour escape from everyday life and will definitely make you content. Purchase tickets online or by calling 214-631-ARTS. See another review by our content partner, John Garcia, by clicking here.

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