Winter Gardens, Blackpool – until Saturday 26 July 2025
Reviewed by Debra Skelton
5*****
The provoking musical Chicago has dazzled it’s way to the Winter Gardens Blackpool and will be showing until Saturday 26th July.
I hadn’t seen any version of Chicago so was really looking forward to seeing what all the hype was about and the only word I can say is AMAZING so, get yourself down to the Winter Gardens Blackpool now as you will not be disappointed.
This musical is by the legendary talents of John Kander, Fred Ebb and legendary choreographer Bob Fosse. Their artistic chemistry delivers all the ingredients of a great show: gripping emotional drama, relatable characters, precise choreography and a sultry jazz-blues score.
The story is set in 1920’s gangster land Chicago at the helm of the prohibition era. It centres around the fame hungry nightclub dancer and housewife Roxie Hart who murders her lover when he threatens to leave her.
Roxie tells her infatuated husband that her lover was actually a burglar but unfortunately for her, she gets caught in this lie and ends up in prison where she meets other glamourous murderesses including Velma Kelly.
To avoid the death penalty, Roxie hires the slickest criminal lawyer in town, Billy Flynn to ensure that she wins the public affections ahead of her jury trial by ensuring she makes sensational headlines.
Even though this musical is around women accused of murder, it also tells a story around the power of the media, the public’s insatiable appetite for gruesome stories, corruption…and all that Jazz.
The story is actually based on true events where in 1924, Beulah Annan shot her lover dead and with the assistance of her charming defence layer, sympathy was stirred with the public around her case. Beulah became the inspiration for Maurine Watkins play who was the journalist who described her as ‘the prettiest woman ever charged with murder in Chicago’. Watkin’s play was later adapted into a captivating musical and in 2022 it was adapted into film starring the award winners Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger, further establishing its popularity.
The cast in this production can only be described as sensational starring Janette Manrara as Roxie Hart, Djalenga Scott as Velma Kelly, Darren Day as Billy Flynn, Linda John-Pierre as Mama Morton, Joshua Lloyd as Amos Hart, Matthew Sweet as Mary Sunshine with the support of such an incredible cast. Their voices can only be described as out of this world and along with their acting talents and the superb choreography they created such a presence on stage with a standing ovation at the end.
This production also has a superb 10-piece band led by musical director Neil MacDonald. As well as conducting the sultry jazz blues score with style, Neil also has the chance to step into the spotlight by introducing characters, songs and snippets of the storyline. This remarkable band integrates itself into the storytelling at every opportunity which is vital to the success of this production.
Chicago features two terrific hours with well-known numbers including All That Jazz, Razzle Dazzle, Cell Block Tango and many more.
Special thanks also need to go to John Lee Beatty for the set design, William Ivey Long for the costume design and Ken Billington for the lighting design.
After seeing this show, it’s no surprise that Chicago remains a crowd-pleaser well into the 21st century.