Chicago - A General Discussion

[WickedGeek28]

Chicago - A General Discussion#0

Posted: 9/15/05 at 2:07pm

I'm sitting in class right now and thinking how much I can't wait for Saturday to see Chicago on Broadway.

I posted a thread similar to this on Movin' Out. Here is the link to that thread:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=865421#1387948

So, I'm asking you guys to post your reviews on the show, cast members past and present, and reviews of the cds and basically anything to do with the show.

I'm a huge fan of the movie, but I know that the stage production is very different. I'm looking forward to seeing the Fosse dancing. This is my first time seeing the show so I'm looking forward to it.

Happy Posting and Thanks in Advance,
WickedGeek28

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird

[MusicAndPassion]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#1

Posted: 9/15/05 at 2:33pm

Chicago is pretty much my favorite musical.

Luba Mason plays Velma Kelly. I don't think I've heard a better voice for the role. You will instantly be taken away by her, if she is performing. I love her so much.

Enjoy the show!

[WickedGeek28]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#2

Posted: 9/16/05 at 4:36pm

Thank you. Does she usually miss performances?

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird

[Penny4Eyes]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#3

Posted: 9/16/05 at 4:37pm

i HATED movin out, i know i probably would of liked it if i was an adult but it was a birthday present, i didnt get to choose the show.

[wickedrentq]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#4

Posted: 9/16/05 at 4:53pm

Due to its dark content, I think Chicago is one of the most intelligent and thought-provoking musicals currently playing on Broadway. If we're discussing it, the whole concept of turning a show and murder trial into vaudeville to satire is brilliant. It all comes together in "Razzle Dazzle" which shows that murder trials and such are all shows, the rise and fall of celebrities, it's all just great.

It's also wonderful how it applies so much to current times despite premiering in the 70s. Obviously, there was the OJ Simpson trial that brought about the idea for the revival, but it applies to so much more today. Think of the reality TV craze, it all examines why are people famous and America's fascination w/ "famous" people and such and it really can apply to them, as well as comment on political events. I love this show.

"If there was a Mount Rushmore for Broadway scores, "West Side Story" would be front and center. It snaps, it crackles it pops! It surges with a roar, its energy and sheer life undiminished by the years" - NYPost reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli

[adamgreer]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#5

Posted: 9/16/05 at 4:59pm

I don't know anything about Luba's attendance, but if she happens to be out, her understudy is Donna Marie Asbury, who is FABULOUS. She's one of my all-time favorite Velma's. She won't disappoint you, if you don't catch Luba.
Updated On: 9/16/05 at 04:59 PM

[Sant]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#6

Posted: 9/16/05 at 5:28pm

CHICAGO is one of the best shows around at the moment! Definitely my favorite show! Having seen it in London and in New York several times with several casts I can't put one cast above any other. But if I could make my dream cast of all the performers I've ever seen in this show, it would include:
CHITA RIVERA as Roxie, BEBE NEUWIRTH as Velma, CLARK PETERS as Billy Flynn.

Even with a not-so-good cast this show is better than most of the shows on Broadway today!

I really liked the movie version of CHICAGO, but it is very different from the stage version. For some reason I felt that a lot of the sarcasm and the irony of the show got lost in the movie! The stage version just works so much better - even though the movie was fantastic.

The stage version is, in my opinion, a brilliant example of how great a show can be when all the elements (book, direction, choreography, costumes and most of all the score!) are top class!

Absolutely a fantastic show!

[VonTussleGirl]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#7

Posted: 9/16/05 at 8:54pm

Well, Charlotte D'Amboise is pretty much one of the best Roxies ever.

However, I don't know when she's coming back into the show.

[DAME]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#8

Posted: 9/16/05 at 8:58pm

You will have a great time.

HUSSY POWER! ------ HUSSY POWER!

[TheBoyfromChi]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#9

Posted: 9/16/05 at 9:05pm

I absolutely love Chicago. The revival was the first Broadway show I ever saw, so it's a very important show to me.
I saw it with Bebe and Ann Reinking, which was amazing. How could you not love Bebe:)
I then saw the tour in Columbus, Ohio with Jasmine Guy as Velma and Charlotte D'amboise as Roxie. Obba Babatunde was Billy. They were absolutely wonderful.
It's definitely a darker show, and I agree that the movie didn't quite capture the essence of the material. You are in for a wonderful time and I am so jealous.
If you do not have it, the revival cast CD is great. It has Bebe, Ann, James Naughton and Joel Grey and I still listen to it all the time.

"I hope you're all happy, keeping Alan off the team. Couldn't you, for once, open your minds and hearts and hear something that he couldn't see? I, for one, am glad that Alan is blind, so he can't see what, I am so sad to say, you can't hear." -Jerri Blank

[Steve2]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#10

Posted: 9/16/05 at 9:10pm

I saw it with Bebe Neuwirth and Karen Ziemba. It happened to be Bebe's last performance so it was very emotional and special.

I was surprised at how cynical the show is about lawyers, the judicial system, etc. Especially given that it was from the early 70's. Very prescient.

I didn't care for the movie. It was all glitz and flash but little substance. The editing was so fast that you never got to enjoy the dancing (or maybe that was the point?).

Have a great time. I am sure you will enjoy yourself.

[popcultureboy]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#11

Posted: 9/16/05 at 9:14pm

I didn't care for the movie. It was all glitz and flash but little substance.

Which is exactly as it should be. Though I do agree that the lawnmower editing was a little annoying. Apparently the new 3 disc DVD has unedited dance footage.

Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

[MarkCohen]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#12

Posted: 9/16/05 at 9:41pm

I guess I'll be the first to say I didn't care for it. I did see a tour, but I think it's the same staging as the revival.

I thought that it wasn't any different than the movie. I didn't even find the dancing all that great.

Shoot me I guess?

[popcultureboy]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#13

Posted: 9/16/05 at 9:44pm

You're entitled to your opinion but if you really found the current revival to be the same as the movie, I am very bemused.

Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

[BSoBW2]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#14

Posted: 9/16/05 at 9:47pm

mark - I thought that it wasn't any different than the movie.

pop - You're entitled to your opinion but if you really found the current revival to be the same as the movie, I am very bemused.

I agree, pop. And Mark - the show came first...so the movie copied that, if anything (even though the movie was no where near as good as the stage production).

[popcultureboy]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#15

Posted: 9/16/05 at 9:49pm

Yes, the movie goes back to a lot of the original production for ideas in how it stages certain numbers. There is almost no trace of the revival in the movie, I didn't think.

Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

[melissa errico fan]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#16

Posted: 9/16/05 at 10:03pm

Best Velmas: Bebe Neuwirth, Ute Lemper, Caroline O'Connor
Best Roxies: Karen Ziemba, Amy Spanger

I'm seeing the current cast on Sunday evening.

[ljay889]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#17

Posted: 9/16/05 at 10:20pm

CHICAGO is like my life (well not literally)

But it has made a huge impact on me. It was my first BWAY show also.

And it also introduced me to Gwen Verdon, which I am very greatful for.

The revival is amazing. The movie lacks the magic I feel when seeing the revival.

Pop is right. The movie took MANY ideas from the Orignal. Roxie sitting on the piano singing FUNNY HONEY is straight from the original script. The girls sang CELL BLOCK TANGO behind bars in the original, and there are plenty more similarities. The movie really is nothing like the revival. Marshall's choreo is completely lackluster compared to Reinkings.

The performances in the movie are pretty good. The standouts being obv. Jones, and Latifah. Renee, and Gere wouldn't last a performance in the current revival.

I just feel like the Rentheads and Wicked teens wont have an appreciation for the revival. Because there is no color nor spectacle. It's frustrating in school, when the Rentheads tell me they didn't like the revival. But the dark satiric quality of the show is my style, and I love it.

[popcultureboy]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#18

Posted: 9/16/05 at 10:25pm

Billy Flynn stripping off during All I Care About Is Love is also from the original staging. And I would love to see Queen Latifah come to the stage as Mama, she was wonderful.

Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

[ljay889]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#19

Posted: 9/16/05 at 10:31pm

Yes! Forgot about the stripping.

And damn. I so wish Latifah could join the Broadway company, I think she'd be fabulous. But she's probally too pricey for the Weisslers to get.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#20

Posted: 9/17/05 at 2:25am

Did anyone see Ann Reinking as Roxie? Today I was listening to the revival recording and found her voice so unappealing compared to Ruthie Henshall's, I just wonder what type of reviews she got when she originated the role in the revival.

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

[tthomas76]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#21

Posted: 9/17/05 at 8:14am

Chicago is one of my very favorite musicals... I really hope you enjoy it... I don't know too many people that don't like it. Enjoy it and give us your review once you get back on the current cast.

[ljay889]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#22

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:39am

Ray. Ann Reinking was loved in the role back in 1977 when she replaced Gwen and in the 96 Revival.

It was said she would've most likely got the Tony nom for Best Actress in 97, but she sadly missed too many performances (due to injury, an death in family)

They say for Roxie, she was completely singing in character voice, and at times it was like a tribute to Gwen Verdon.

You should check out this thread for more on Ann's singing, why her voice is so raspy, and thoughts from people who saw her.

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=864287#1340540

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#23

Posted: 9/17/05 at 1:56pm

Thanks ljay. I did notice that Ann Reinking's voice is similar to Gwen Verdon's in the OBC album. I wonder what Verdon thought of the show or was she too old by the time the show came out?
I love Chicago, it's definitely my favorite show, I just wish its producers weren't such bastards! They lost Bebe Neuwirth and Ute Lemper, hope they haven't lost Ruthie. Also, am I the only one who's dying for Frances Rufelle to play the show on Broadway?

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

[ljay889]

re: Chicago - A General Discussion#24

Posted: 9/17/05 at 2:13pm

Ray. Believe it or not. Verdon herself said that she thought the revival was better than her original production! That really says something.

And no Weisslers are still cool with Ruthie. She returned to Chicago with Velma in 2003. And played Velma on Broadway and on tour in the late 90's. I wish they could get her back once again.