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It's time for Chicago to go

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#1

It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:23pm

Chicago's cast changes so many times that it seems to be a waste. The producers have just announced that Smokey Robinson will be the next Billy Flynn when John O'Hurly just started his run. Do any leads even stay longer than six months? I think the producers have to understand that, they do have the longest revival to play on Broadway, but it's time for the Lights to dim in Chicago.
"Listen to the song that I sing and trust me..."
#2

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:28pm

I've thought about it and I don't disagree with you. It's become nothing but a "Come look at the latest B-Class celebrity we just dug up!" show.
You promised me poems. ~Tricky
#3

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:28pm

Unfortunately, as long as they're showing a profit, the Weissler's will keep it running. It's their cash cow.
Hey Dottie! Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
#4

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:33pm

I think they can keep this one running alot longer. Most certainly thru its 10 year anniversary. And even with the theater shortage.. no one is banging at the door for the Ambassador. It is a small , uncomfortable theater, with so-so sidelines. I now check out Chicago about every other year. I hope I get to do it some more. I think there are some great Roxies and Velmas yet to come.
HUSSY POWER! ------ HUSSY POWER!
#5

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:34pm

They just need stunt casts that are not so silly. Can they not put out a beautiful dollar for one lead with a name AND talent? Is Streisand as Mama Morten too much to ask? (LOL!)
"It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance." - Elizabeth Taylor
#6

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:35pm

Even with the stunt casting, Chicago is SO MUCH better than a lot of stuff that makes it on the boards. The piece itself (and the ensemble) is able to support a so-so lead or two and still come out smelling like a rose.
". . . POP . . ."
#7

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:36pm

LOL jimmirae!

I hear what you are saying. And I agree. But you know.. Smokey Robinson will attract another kind of audience. And thats a good thing. And he probably wont do it for long.
HUSSY POWER! ------ HUSSY POWER!
#8

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:41pm

That is truw Dame. I still wanna see Babs do it though...LOL! Hey, If she does Brolin can be Billy Flynn!!!
"It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance." - Elizabeth Taylor
#9

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:44pm

I agree it's much better than half the sh*t on Broadway these days.

It's a classic. And the Weissler's are not always stunt casting. This is really the most they have done in a while. 3 stunt Billys in a role (Huey, John, and Smokey.)

There are many times where the cast is led by all Broadway talents, and complete unknowns in the mainstream world. And the show is still amazing that way.

The show is VERY cheap to run, it's at a Theatre that no show wants, people still go to see it - so why close it?
#11

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:45pm

The piece itself (and the ensemble) is able to support a so-so lead or two and still come out smelling like a rose.

--Sounds like the meaning of the song "Razzle Dazzle" :)
"You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering." --Harold Hill from The Music Man
#12

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:46pm

I do think it is really silly how short the contracts are for the foles. When you think about it though.....it will bring in more people. People will say "Oh, Smakey robinson is the new Flinn, i have not seen him yet...lets go." then a month later another new person will come in that everyone needs to see. It is canstant thing. It is a really good strategy but i think it needs to stop. I cant keep up with the cast anymore! lol
#13

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:51pm

I'm hoping to see the show on Sunday night, any ideas of who I'll be seeing?
"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
#14

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:51pm

Well the stars do "limited egagements." It's not suppose to be a long run.

Otherwise we have wonderful Broadway performers who perform these roles when they aren't stunted. The role of Velma is rarely ever stunt casted, it's almost impossible to stunt that role - for obvious reasons.
#15

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:53pm

yeah....Although i would pay just asbout anything to see Catherine Zeta-Jones live!! I thought she was so brilliant the the movie.
#16

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 3:56pm

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO chicago rocks! its simply the best! get rid of Avenue or Spamalot, not Chicago, its just too good
both reached for the gun!
#18

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 4:01pm

NOT CHICAGO, anything but chicago.... lol (how about Sweeney?)

"attend the tale of sweeney todd"- what a load....BEEP
both reached for the gun!
#19

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 4:02pm

I agree!!! I dont get sweeny...it moves way to slowly......but that is another thread and another time
#20

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 4:04pm

wow someone who finally agrees with me....sweeney really should go! (as you said its a thread for another time....)
both reached for the gun!
#21

it's time fo chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 4:04pm

yeah, let's shut down that show down that's employing all those people on broadway and still turning a profit because it offends your sensibilities. any animals you're allergic to? we can start killing them.

every once in a while a thread like this pops up (more often than i care to admit) and it shows the callous disregard some people have for the people who depend on broadway for their living.
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.

...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty

pray to st. jude

i'm a sonic reducer

he was the gimmicky sort

fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
#22

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 4:05pm

Chicago is, along with Piazza and Sweeney, THE best musical running on Broadway right now. If Phantom is running and if Rent is running (I'm sorry but years ago the performers on Rent stopped being Broadway material), then there's no reason why Chicago should stop running. The ensemble in Chicago is one of the best on Broadway at the moment, if you go to some long-running shows or touring companies, the ensemble looks bored and annoyed of being there, but not in Chicago. Like LJay said, I actually think that Velma has never been stunt-casted (although some actresses have been pretty mediocre in the role at times), and yes they've made some terrible choices with Billy Flynn lately, but their Roxies (except for the infamous Griffith) have turned out to be great and I don't ever recall seeing a bad Mamma Morton and look at the caliber of the actresses playing the role in the past years. So no, it's not time for Chicago to go.
#23

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 4:47pm

I saw Sharon Lawrence as Velma, would you consider that stunt casting?
And, no, Sweeney must NOT go! You can not like it, but it's a show that needs to be on Broadway right now. As FoscasBohemianDream said, it's one of the best musicals running on Broadway right now (along with Piazza and Chicago, as Fosca said as well)
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#25

re: It's time for Chicago to go

Posted: 2/15/06 at 4:57pm

Watch out, Wickedfan!!! I said the same thing a couple of months ago about Sharon Lawrence and was told that wasn't stunt casting.

LOL
". . . POP . . ."

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