Welcome to the Razzle Dazzle of Chicago the Musical

Red Carpet Arrivals

The opening night of Chicago wowed the audience in Sydney last week. I was one of the lucky ones who saw the arrivals on the red carpet then joined the capacity audience in the Capitol Theatre.

The red carpet overflowed with invited celebrities who wore their best clothes to fit in with the glitzy razamataz of Chicago. Even the men dressed in their finest gear as they strolled down the red carpet in front of the theatre. There were sequins and sparkles galore.

Chicago the Musical was set in the 1920's in Chicago. It told the story from a reporters point of view of some women who were in prison on murder charges. It was about the murders, imprisonment and courts proceedings of one of them.

The staging of Chicago the Musical was a bit different to other musicals. There were no elaborate sets on stage. All the audience saw was black walls and the orchestra on stage surrounded by a huge picture frame. The orchestra were dressed in black, and all the cast members wore black costumes. The only props were bentwood chairs, which of course were black. The color contrast was the pale skin of the actors, the white gloves and white feathers. Color came into prominence in the last song of the show, when the backdrop was glitzy gold. My first thought when seeing all the black was that it would be a rather bleak and depressing show to sit through. How wrong I was. The black focussed all my attention on the music, singing and dancing of the actors. The music, singing and dancing were brilliant and gave Chicago the Musical the razzle dazzle that made it a fun show to see on a cold winter's night. 

The onstage band provided all the jazz style music for Chicago. The keyboard, drums, percussion, brass and strings provided the great music for the singers. The orchestra scame into their own at the opening of the second act when they played by themselves with no singers.

Chicago the Musical 

The star-studded cast were an excellent choice. The two women who played the two main prisoners were great singers and dancers. Zoe Ventoura played Velma Kelly and Lucy Maunder played Roxie Hart. Both of these women have extensive experience playing leading roles in other theatre and TV productions. You may remember Zoe from her TV role as Mel Rafter in the original cast of Packed to the Rafters.

Anthony Warlow played Billy Flynn, the lawyer who was engaged to defend the convicted Roxie Hart of killing her lover. His years of experience shone through with his great singing voice adding a touch of class to his role.

Peter Rowsthorn played Roxy's husband Amos Hart. He was excellent in providing the comic relief to lighten the show. His sense of timing was spoi on. Peter is best known for being in the TV show Kath and Kim.

The other great leads were Asabi Goodman who played Matron 'Mama' Morton and S.Valeri who played Mary Sunshine. The extraordinary ensemble line up filled the stage with high energy singing and dancing to make the show an absolute delight to see.

Chicago the Musical 

The lighting of Chicago the Musical looked to be simple, but I imagine it was rather complex to achieve. The spots were on the singers and dancers, but darkness on where there was no action on the stage.

As I mentioned before, the costumes of all the characters were all in black. What I didn't mention was the style of the womens and mens clothes. They were not the typical boring prison garb. Think skimpy, see-through and sexy. Except for Anthony Warlow, who wore high class black suits.

The choreography of Chicago the Musical made the show. It was high energy, even sometimes bordering on gymnastics. The solos and group dancing were spectacular to watch.

I find it intriguing to find out about the background of musicals. Chicago the Musical is based on events that actually happened in the 1920s. Maurine Watkins, a junior reporter on the Chicago Tribune, was assigned to cover the trials of women accused of murder. Two of these, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, became Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly that feature in Chicago the Musical.

Chicago the Musical is Broadway's longest running musical. It will be only be performed in Sydney for a short season, so get in quickly to secure your seats to this razzle dazzle show. As I have heard said, it would be a crime to miss it.

Chicago the Musical 

Chicago the Musical

Sydney - to 28 July, Capitol Theatre

Adelaide in August, (Festival Theatre), 

Canberra in September (Canberra Theatre) 

Web: https://chicagomusical.com.au/
Tickets: https://chicagomusical.com.au/tickets/sydney/