Good Evening!
Back from
Chicago starring Ms. Brooke Shields...
I have to say that as much as I do like the show, this version is still not the show. It's still the glorified concert version it started off as. Minimal set, minimal costumes, etc. *And I still remember hoping that when the show "transferred" from City Center to the Richard Rodgers (wasn't that where it was originally?), that they were going to expand the playing/dancing area - Oh! how I would love to see the "Cell Block Tango" take place on a
full stage! However, I will say that this version of the show has developed over the years - the actors and actresses don't mug and pose as much as they originally did, and the producers and director(s) have allowed for the individual cast members to show more of their own personality. With that disclaimer out the way...
It was a good show. Luba Mason as Velma Kelly acquits herself nicely. -And it's nice to see that she escaped from the cultural dessert that was
The Ten Commandments. Clarke Peters' Billy Flynn seemed a little vocally strained tonight, and I missed the innate sexuality that James Naughton brought to the role. Debra Monk is a wonderful Mama Morton, although I found myself feeling that she is sort of wasted in this production - but I think that's just the way the production is fashioned. And R. Lowe is one of the best Mary Sunshine's I've ever heard. The high notes and the quality of those notes were actually quite beautiful at times.
As for the Roxie of Brooke Shields... Dance-wise, she really holds her own. -Unlike Melanie Griffith who basically did none of the choreography when she stepped into the show (and then got raves from the critics). Vocally, unfortunately, she just seemed not right for the role. I'm still wondering if it's the Chicago accent she's trying to adopt, or whether she was holding back tonight. I just kept wishing that she would open her mouth more - everything seemed clenched. Maybe the role is too low for her? And I also noticed that the tempos for her numbers were a few ticks faster than what I'm used to hearing. Hmmm...
In any case, she really does her own, and the audience ate her up.
And on a purely "hormonal" note... The men in the ensemble... -I'd like to thank whoever invented that black mesh fabric that most of the men's shirts are made out of.
*And my only general quibble about the whole evening was the sound. Those horns carry well enough without being mic'd... I found myself straining to hear lyrics more than I would have liked too. Luba Mason, in particular, seemed overwhelmed too much of the time - especially at the top of the second act. I thought for a second she had forgotten the words, and had just started singing gibberish. Well... she was just not balanced well against the orchestra, and her words just got lost in the mix.
