I saw the show from front row center, row BB seat 107 on Sunday night, December 20, 2015. I went back and looked and it was my 20th time seeing the Broadway production! Oh how I've grown to love this show.
I was thrilled to open my playbill and see my very favorite Roxie, Bianca Marroquin listed. She always does something special with the "Roxie" number, but it really seemed like she was feeling extra goofy or extra energetic about it because she added so much that I've never seen before, and I've seen her do it many times. The interaction with the conductor was the longest I've ever seen. And it was great to see Me and My Baby with the full choreo after watching the hackjob version that Brandy performed this summer. Soooo much was left out of that song that was joyously back in place tonight.
I was elated to see that Terra MacLeod was on as Velma. It's not that I did not like Amra-Faye, but I just grew tired of her performance. Terra was a refreshing change as Velma.
Jason Danieley as Billy was a revelation. His note at the end of "Reached for the Gun" was phenomenal. Wish I had counted how long it was. Most of the cast even broke character toward the end, and he just kept going and going. I have seen the show 20 times so I've seen lots of Billys hold the note out, but nothing that even came close to this.
Nene Leakes. Well. I was, for the most part, pleasantly surprised. This was her last performance, so she definitely got teary-eyed at times. During her song in the Act I, she was so poorly directed that I could not blame her for the awkwardness. She just did not know what to do with her hands. And she would lean all the way backwards like she was in a limbo contest at seemingly random points in the song. Her singing? Not good. BUT----she was well-taught in how to make the most out of her limited voice. she sang the notes that were within her tiny range, and when a note was too high or needed to be sung for too long, it was changed or it was not sung for as long as someone like Carol Woods would sing it. When she said her lines, she talked as if she was trying to feign an accent, or as if she had a some jolly ranchers in her mouth. It was hard to figure out exactly what she was doing. She missed just about every joke---her comic timing is entirely non-existent. It seemed as if the director (or resident director? Something tells me Walter Bobbie did not come in to direct her) just gave up and told her to do the best she could. After her bow, she went and hugged each cast member who was standing stage left. Someone from the audience gave her a big bouquet since it was her final show.
I had a critical eye ready to pounce on the first sign of long-run-itis in this performance. Once again I did not see any. I think that some people go into this show convinced that it is not taken care of, and then convinced themselves they saw sleepwalking performances even though they did not. My beloved show Rent was so sloppy and neglected by the time it closed, and I had no problem admitting that. Chicago is another beloved show of mine, and the first time I see someone looking tired or bored or not doing the right blocking, I will acknowledge it.
And finally. Something to cross off my bucket list. Bianca threw her final rose to me! I almost didn't even see it coming because it was the last thing I expected and next thing I know, she is looking directly at me and there is a plastic rose heading right for my face. I quickly grabbed it and smiled back. It was a dream come true. Can't get the picture I took (after the show obviously) to load on here because it keeps downloading as a PDF.
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