Chicago – Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

Music: John Kander

Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Book: Fred Ebb & Bob Fosse

Adaptor: David Thompson

Director: Scott Faris

Reviewer: Nick Hutchinson

The Public Reviews Rating:

I’m not someone who is particularly fond of many musicals, but having seen the movie adaptation of this starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellwegger, (and enjoyed it) I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Many friends had told me how excellent it was live. This was not at all a disappointing night out.

From beginning to end the music was precise and mischievous, the singing was full of fun and at times seductive, the acting was convincing (for the ridiculous story that it is), and the costumes very revealing.

The story is of the fleeting nature of fame and the lengths that someone will go to find themselves up in lights or in the newspaper. An aspiring singer/dancer, Roxy shoots her lover and when she realises the publicity and exposure she can gain from this, decides to admit she did shoot him (previously her cuckolded husband had given her a cover story of his guilt). We then follow her through jail (with the other convicted or charged murderesses) to the trial and verdict.

All the time encountering the other key characters of the lawyer Billy Flynn, Velma Kelly (our other fame seeking killer), Matron ‘Mama’ Morton who runs the Cook County prison as her own little publicity agency and the wonderful Amos Hart (the sellophane man whom nobody notices).

Now I don’t know if this is normal for Chicago or musicals but the band was placed on stage to simulate the jazz band of a club in the titular city. This did make the stage look crowded at times but they skilfully wove that into the dynamics of the scenes. Lighting was used instead of sets especially with the scenes in the jail and court room and quite effectively. The band were excellent, pumping out those familiar tunes and joining in with the action too. And certainly there was never any lack of fullness of action on the stage.

Costume wise – well there wasn’t much really. It is a very raunchy musical with skimpy ladies and well toned men all over the place but they could sing too. Well most of them anyway.

Marti Pellow was of course the big crowd pleaser and he was brilliant. You can see that he is an experienced musician and performer. Whenever on, he grabbed the atmosphere and moved with ease and confidence. Working with an American accent may have let him down a little bit but there was no doubting that he was indeed the gorgeous and pragmatic Billy Flynn – lawyer to the infamous.

Emma Barton, highlighted as the other main star here (obviously because of her role in Eastenders) certainly gave it a shot and was mostly on target, but she did falter several times on dance moves especially on the last Hot Honey Rag number. Twinnie-Lee More with her height, was just right as the pushed aside Velma Kelly.

But for me the two outstanding performances that so held the stage and filled the space with sound and character every time they had lines or stage time were Wendy Lee Purdy as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton and Adam Stafford as Amos Hart. They just seemed to bring a prefect sound and time and effect into what theywere saying and singing. Maybe it was the quite tragic and vulnerable nature of the character of Amos Hart as the ignored but loving husband to Roxy that gave him so much to work with and he delivered a deliciously humorous and broken part.

The Matron is such a controlling character in the story line and Wendy Lee Purdy brought that home with ribbons on – soft and maternal, yet seeking her own fortune and notoriety too. Purdy has had operatic training and experience and this showed in the way she filled the stage with her voice so much more than the others.

This is great fun, entertaining and engaging and also quite macabre considering the subject matter, but nothing to take too seriously for us in the audience. Maybe celebrities should hear the warning that fame is fleeting and watch out where a desire for popularity will take you (Celebrity Big Brother ???). Enjoy.