‘Chicago’ still shines as a snazzy musical almost 50 years on

I’d seen a top-tier production of Chicago, the musical on Broadway back in 2002 featuring Michael C. Hall (he who starred in Six Feet Under and Dexter) in the lead male role of lawyer Billy Flynn. So far as star quality goes, I couldn’t have asked to witness better talent. This week, I caught the fresh production of Chicago at Crown Theatre in Perth and must say I was just as impressed as when I saw the show two decades ago in New York.

Since its inception on the Broadway stage (June 3, 1975), Chicago has enjoyed many seasons on various stages across the globe. That original production ran for an impressive 936 performances, and you would think a musical so familiar to many might have lost a little of its shine 48 years on. Instead, the Crown Theatre show shines as brightly as any production put on before it.

Australian veteran Anthony Warlow steps into the shoes of Billy Flynn and carries the role with cunning and gusto. Having performed in the past with Opera Australia, Warlow is no stranger to the stage and to music, and can belt out a tune better than most.

It’s when Warlow he gets into the fast-paced songs, eg: We Both Reached For The Gun (in which co-star Lucy Maunder as Roxie Hart plays a puppet to his ventriloquist) that the man truly impresses. Not only does he have to balance Maunder’s Roxie on his lap, he’s basically got to rap through quickfire lyrics while she has to act all gangly dolly-like and lip-sync to his singing – it literally is quite the balancing act.

Maunder’s co-star is Zoë Ventoura as Velma Kelly – and both actresses’ are very good at having their characters fight it out on stage for attention in the actual storyline but never aiming to out-do each other in front of the audience. Both actresses appear to realise that their roles are equally important to the plot. While Maunder’s standout number is the titular song-to-self Roxie, Ventoura’s is I Can’t Do It Alone where she puts on a song-and-dance routine literally about a song-and-dance routine previously performed with her sister.

Even if you haven’t seen Chicago before – on stage or screen, you’d surely be familiar with many of its songs. One favourite in particular is the Cell Block Tango, in which six female prison inmates each take a verse in telling their story of how they ended up in jail, extrapolating on the truth, of course, to add a bit of ‘jazz’ to the proceedings. The ‘Mama’ of the prison is played with great attitude by Asabi Goodman whose American twang is one of the more genuine ones on stage having been born in the US herself.

The thing about Chicago, the musical, is that it is all about the songs, really. In this particular production, there are no major backdrop changes – instead, a live orchestra fills half the backstage. There are no whiz-bang special effects, no over-the-top lighting tricks, no pyrotechnics, no aerial tactics. It’s all just high quality singing and dancing and I suppose that’s what you really want to see in a musical.

There are other classic burlesque things in the mix (the stockings; the slick hair; the strappy heels) but for the most part it is the songs that shine along with the singers singing them and dancers expressing themselves to them.

Altogether this is an impressive take on a classic musical that never appears to grow hackneyed no matter how many times I see it. Pop, Six, Squish, Uh-uh, Cicero, Lipschitz and all.

Antonino Tati

‘Chicago’ is on at Crown Theatre, Perth. Season runs till December 17, 2023 before transferring to the Lyric Theatre QPAC, South Brisbane from 2 January 2024. For tickets visit chicagomusical.com.au.

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