By There was a time in this country, not too long ago, when a singing sensation would come onto the stage, stand and sing. The audience would go wild. Such is the case of “Chicago,” the six-time Tony Award-winning musical now playing at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.
Most will remember the Academy Award-winning 2002 film, “Chicago,” starring Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere with its flashy cinematography and wild costuming. This portrayal, however, is wrong. The greatness of the musical comes not from its ability to be visually epic but from its ability to do so much with so little.
The stage is set with a 14-piece band on a classic stadium-style stand reminiscent of the big bands that were the staple of music from the 1920s through the 1950s. Because the grand stand is so unequivocal, the remainder of the stage is forced to be filled out with chairs or creative lighting for set pieces. This compels the musical to rely on the considerable talents of the singers and actors.
Because of the minimal dancing by the lead actors, the play may seem uneventful or even boring for the first 20 minutes. This is when it becomes particularly important to remember the context of which this musical is performed.
The play is set during the roaring 20s, when underground gin mills and jazz were dealt out in smoky, dark rooms. Singers hugged their microphones and stood stagnate, perhaps only gesturing with an arm for emphasis on one of their more subversive lines, to a captivated audience aroused by the knowledge that on the right night, anything could happen.
The tuxedo clad, acid etched Brent Barrett is especially effective as the sensational shyster lawyer Billy Flynn, who uses his operatic voice like a kind of graft or distraction while he pickpockets. Barrett plays Flynn with so much confidence that you could sign your soul over to him and then thank him for the opportunity afterward.
The shining stars of “Chicago” are Terra C. MacLeod as Velma Kelly and Michelle T. Williams, ex-Destiny’s Child, as Roxie Hart.
MacLeod’s sultry cynicism gives form to the double murderess, Velma Kelly. From the beginning, the audience understands that Velma is a woman who knows the score.
Williams, on the other hand, plays up the jilted killer Roxie like a spoiled reality television star, making her character more believable in comparison to today’s starlets.
At the heart of this is a den of lies and moral failings in Tom Riis Farrell as the lovable loser Amos Hart. From the very beginning, he has the audience eating out of his hand, stealing the show almost everytime he totters on stage. Farrell’s nervous, bumbling and husky physicality is merely a shell, however, for the lion that lies within. This is a man who otherwise draws no attention to himself; Farrell belts out his one solo performance in “Mister Cellophane” like a dying request. A moment certainly not to be ignored.
The lingerie-clad female dancers are a unique point in the show. There is a sensuality to their actions that manages to be erotic without becoming lewd, which is refreshing since lewdness is easy to attain.
The stage is also graced with high-risk and highly dazzling visuals. At one point during the song “Razzle Dazzle,” glitter begins to pour from the ceiling in a blizzard of theatricality that highlights the spectacle of the courtroom scene.
“Chicago” will play through May 9 at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. For more information or tickets, visit www.broadwayla.org.
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