Let’s start with the good news. As a production, Chicago the musical has still got it. The music is terrific, the dancing is amazing and the performances are good, if not all great.
As competent as it is, this is not the best Australian production of Chicago, despite being the latest, and I have seen a few.
Something is missing and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Having said that let me say this – the audience on opening night in the Lyric Theatre at QPAC loved it. They were there for a good time and nothing was going to deter them.
I had a good time, too, don’t misunderstand me. But when I started to think about the show things got more complicated. Perhaps one shouldn’t overthink it. I’m sure most people probably didn’t ponder, as I did, whether this show is still acceptable in 2024.
I say that because of the storyline. It’s basically about some very unattractive people. The two main characters, Roxie Hart (Lucy Maunder) and Velma Kelly (Zoe Ventura) are, after all, killers without conscience who are both where they should be – in jail.
The other main character, the lawyer Billy Flynn (Anthony Warlow), who is trying to get them off, is a vain, superficial, cynical man who doesn’t give a fig for the law.
America in the Jazz Age was a violent place and Chicago was crime central. It still is, for that matter, as well as a society still awash with guns and violence. This show celebrates that in a bizarre way, lampoons it in other ways and satirises it too. Yet murder and violence, betrayal and lust are the driving forces and they are, to a degree, trivialised.
The only decent character is Roxie’s hapless husband Amos (Peter Rowsthorn). Rowsthorn is used to being a hapless husband from his time on Kath & Kim. He’s the only one who is innocent.
The other main star is local Asabi Goodman, who belts out some incredible vocals as Matron “Mama” Morton, another flawed and pretty creepy character.
When you drill down into Chicago, it’s all quite nasty. On the other hand, if you don’t think about too deeply, that won’t be a problem for you.
I’m able to critique a show while still enjoying it. The thing I really love about Chicago is John Kander’s music, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. The songs are terrific, starting with the classic All That Jazz.
The orchestra, which is a major character by being centre stage (in tiers) under musical director Anthony Barnhill, is smoking hot. For me, this is like a kind of jazz concert with theatrical elements to keep the punters occupied.
The other thing to really love is the dancing – and the dancers in this production are first rate. The original choreography by Bob Fosse is iconic and there’s still enough Fosse involved to keep fans happy. Fosse was a genius and Chicago was ground-breaking when it debuted on Broadway in 1975. It has been playing there ever since.
Producers Barry and Fran Weissler say “the legendary John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse created a near-perfect musical” – and you can’t argue with that.
In fact, it’s one musical I can sit through without looking at my watch, mainly due to the music. Musicals are cash cows for QPAC and other venues and a lot of the time it doesn’t seem to matter if they are good or rubbish – they still pack them in. For venues and producers, that’s what matters.
But while many musicals don’t make the grade, critically speaking, Chicago has still got it, although I believe it could be done as a 90-minute show with no interval to keep momentum going.
Based on a 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, it is a story of its time. The sad thing is that it is also a story of our time because all the negative human defects enshrined in the main characters and all the gun violence and death and media manipulation are still part of American society.
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The best thing about it? All that jazz. America invented jazz and it’s the music and the Fosse choreography that is the foundation of the success of this musical.
I’d love to see an express concert version with just the songs, music with snippets of dancing and narrative. That would be a pretty good show without all the unpleasantness.
Chicago, Lyric Theatre, QPAC, until February 4
qpac.com.au
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