Non replica productions of Chicago

[batboysings]

Posted: 1/19/20 at 11:47am

Has anyone seen any non replica productions of Chicago - maybe a community/non professional production?

How did they stage it?

The Broadway revival production is so iconic in its style that I am struggling to imagine it done differently. Even high school productions on YouTube are done in a similar minimal/black stockings/band on stage kinda way. I'm intrigued to know if there's a very different way to present this show.

[inception]

Posted: 1/19/20 at 2:04pm

Well, there's the original production from the 70's. 

http://www.playbill.com/article/look-back-at-chita-rivera-and-gwen-verdon-in-chicago-on-broadway

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/19/20 at 2:20pm

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/19/20 at 2:22pm

There was a production that played the drury lane theatre in the Chicago area a few years back and I believe it got favorable reviews.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/19/20 at 2:36pm

The Fulton Theater did one in 2018 I believe. Jessica Lee Goldyn and Heather Parcells were Roxie & Velma.

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 1/19/20 at 11:11pm

The MUNY production was non-replica 

[greensgreens]

Posted: 1/19/20 at 11:11pm

Theatre Latte Da did an awesome production last fall in Minneapolis. It was an interesting blend of the movie and the original Fosse staging. They used a speakeasy instead of vaudeville space. It was clever and Roxie was outstanding!

[A Director]

Posted: 1/20/20 at 12:48am

The Chicago revival was done on the cheap. The production is the Encore production on a Broadway stage.

[Fan123]

Posted: 1/20/20 at 3:48am

The 2019 Theatre Magdeburg production in Germany looks to have been pretty different.



https://www.theater-magdeburg.de/en/whats-on/operaoperettamusical/sz-20182019/chicago/

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 1/20/20 at 4:11am

Fan123 said: "The 2019 Theatre Magdeburg production in Germany looks to have been pretty different.



https://www.theater-magdeburg.de/en/whats-on/operaoperettamusical/sz-20182019/chicago/"

WHAT ON EARTH!? That production looks absolutely bizarre and absolutely fascinating at the same time!

[Fan123]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 3:23am

^^ I just looked up some further details about that production out of curiosity. Clearly they were given a fair bit of freedom to do something different:

https://musicalzentrale.de/index.php?service=0&subservice=2&details=9443

To quote the Google Translate version of the above review:
"In a spoken intro, [director Ulrich] Wiggers weaves the framework for the plot: the prisons have been privatized and the stories of the inmates offer ideal entertainment potential for the sensational crowd at home in front of the TV, on the tablet or on the smartphone, which then decides interactively about the fate of the inmates."

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 8:19am

The Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario is presenting Chicago this summer in a non-replica production. Donna Feore is directing and cheorographing. She did a non-replica production of A Chorus Line and West Side Story at the festival in the past. It's interesting to note that in a press release (which I remember reading, and now can't find) it mentioned that Barry Weissler had given permission for the non-replica production...I had no idea he held any of those rights. 

[BJR]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 8:49am

Fan123 said: "The 2019 Theatre Magdeburg production in Germany looks to have been pretty different.



https://www.theater-magdeburg.de/en/whats-on/operaoperettamusical/sz-20182019/chicago/"

That production looks ridiculous and fascinating. You gotta love subsidized theatre!

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 1/22/20 at 10:11am

German theatre is so great.