Chicago the Musical
...and all...
...that...
..jazz!!
The song never left my brain the day I watched Chicago the movie, so after realizing that the Musical was in town, I knew I had to get tickets. Good thing there were several other ladies interested (no chance with the blokes, I didn’t even bother asking).
I truly admired Catherine Zeta Jones (Velma Kelly) and Renee Zellweger (Roxy Hart) in the movie (it won an Best Picture, and I’m sure they paid a lot of money to whoever choreographed the whole gig so I was curious to see what the difference in approach would be if done in a theater setting. It was entitled Chicago because this was where these two ladies have committed crimes that sent them both to Cook County Jail around the 1920’s – Velma killed her husband and her sister when she caught the two of them, and Roxie for killing a man she had an affair with thinking he was going to make her famous – but eventually confirmed that he only wanted her for sex.
So Her Majesty’s Theater stage was installed with a backdrop of musicians (as opposed to being ‘under the stage’) and it also provided the overall stage ‘décor’, and had participated beyond the music that they provide – there were flashes of humor and unexpected bits and pieces from the musicians (even the female music conductor was sporting a nifty black outfit). This minimal setup provided more room for dancing, which is obviously a critical requirement. “Cell Block Tango” still remained to be a personal favorite – it tells the stories of the women and the ‘crimes of passion’ they have (or have not) done.
I truly admired Catherine Zeta Jones (Velma Kelly) and Renee Zellweger (Roxy Hart) in the movie (it won an Best Picture, and I’m sure they paid a lot of money to whoever choreographed the whole gig so I was curious to see what the difference in approach would be if done in a theater setting. It was entitled Chicago because this was where these two ladies have committed crimes that sent them both to Cook County Jail around the 1920’s – Velma killed her husband and her sister when she caught the two of them, and Roxie for killing a man she had an affair with thinking he was going to make her famous – but eventually confirmed that he only wanted her for sex.
So Her Majesty’s Theater stage was installed with a backdrop of musicians (as opposed to being ‘under the stage’) and it also provided the overall stage ‘décor’, and had participated beyond the music that they provide – there were flashes of humor and unexpected bits and pieces from the musicians (even the female music conductor was sporting a nifty black outfit). This minimal setup provided more room for dancing, which is obviously a critical requirement. “Cell Block Tango” still remained to be a personal favorite – it tells the stories of the women and the ‘crimes of passion’ they have (or have not) done.
Great performance from the ladies and gentlemen of the Melbourne show. Quite inspiring for those who would love to be back in theater (cough!), highly entertaining without being over the top, and you definitely get your money’s worth. And all that jazz.
Other details here and the Chicago website here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment