Empire Theatre, Liverpool – until 12 February 2022
Reviewed by Mia Bowen
5*****
It was razzle dazzle all the way as Kander and Ebb’s acclaimed Chicago The Musical made it’s way to Liverpool, this week. There is a reason Chicago is the longest running Broadway revival in history, the staging and choreography is still some of the best and it shows! There is no need to mess with anything, just bring in new cast members and the show runs itself.
Set in the jazz drenched, roaring 20’s. The musical, which is an adaptation of the play by Maurine Watkins, takes the audience into the corrupt underbelly of Chicago and explores the obsession with fame and disregard for the law. We follow the story of Roxie Heart (Faye Brookes), who after murdering her lover for threatening to leave her, finds herself in Cook County Jail. Here we are introduced to Velma Kelly (Djalenga Scott) and Matron ‘Mama’ Morton (Sheila Ferguson) as we watch the characters in acts of deceit and their pursuit of fame. To avoid conviction Roxie deceives the public and media by hiring Chicago’s craftiest criminal lawyer, Billy Flynn (Russell Watson).
Amos Heart (Jamie Baughan) is Roxie’s hard working but naïve husband. While he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, he truly loves her and wants the best for her. Though at first he is angry at her betrayal, he is willing to forgive her for the sake of their family. His character achieved the biggest laugh and the most sympathy from the audience, especially with his performance of Mister Cellophane, his tale of not being noticed.
‘All that Jazz’, ‘Cell Block Tango’ and ‘We both reached for the gun’ has always been personal favourites of mine and my expectations were very high, however I was not disappointed! I was dazzled by the choreography and it’s execution on the stage.
The orchestra, who often goes unnoticed, was placed raked, in full view of the audience, centre stage and with clever lighting, only added to the jazz nightclub feeling. These talented musicians were an undeniable asset to the performance and had the audience clap and cheer at the beginning of Act 2 to ‘Entr’acte’, showing us what they were made of. Chicago is the only show I have seen where the audience stayed firmly in their seats at the end, just to enjoy the music instead of rushing to get the last train home.
The cast and orchestra thoroughly deserved the standing ovation it received as the curtain fell, leaving us feeling all razzle-dazzled!