Masterfully weaving a tale of fame, fortune and overt scandal, Bob Fosse’s Broadway musical “Chicago” made its local debut Tuesday night at the Overture Center for the Arts, one of Madison’s top performance venues. Featuring its characteristically refreshing glimpse into the 1920s legal system, this Broadway phenomenon continues to stun audiences and maintain its marked level of worldwide recognition and widespread acclaim. In what began as a play by Chicago Tribune reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, this dramatic satire has since developed into an international sensation, resulting in an assemblage of savvy dancing, stunning vocals and risqué wardrobes.
Set in Prohibition-era Chicago where defiant flappers and “all that jazz” were at the heart of everyday life, “Chicago” distinguishes itself from other Prohibition-era tales in its mockery of the prided, celebrity-like depiction of criminals. Lead character Roxie Hart’s actions and persona illustrate this skewed ideal of glamorized criminals. She willfully twists her homicidal guilt to her own benefit. She uses crime as a means of achieving fame and she consequently carries the crowd on a winding account of multiple acts of murder.
Much of the foul play that carries on throughout the performance is vaudevillian in nature; the show’s central characters all display themselves and their self-proclaimed grandeur in some form of theatrical arrangement. Aside from the central and aforementioned vaudevillian Hart, fellow murderess Velma Kelly is also vain and fame-seeking and she makes her presence known throughout the entire show. Just as Hart seeks out the attention of the public eye, Kelly also aspires to stardom, invariably presaging the mounting conflict these like-minded intentions inspire.
Lawyer Billy Flynn aids in the drive toward such lofty ambitions of fame. In the Overture’s show, Flynn is played by “Seinfeld” and “Dancing With the Stars” actor and television personality John O’Hurley. In order to earn sympathy and alter publicly held opinions of his glaringly guilty clients, Flynn sensationalizes these characters in such a “razzle-dazzle” fashion that his clients—all of whom are former criminals—are transformed into celebrity figures, in large part based on the level of name recognition they have received as a result of their crimes.
As a whole, the skillful incorporation of historical elements with the play’s audacious cast, characteristically lurking humor and skimpy clothing are what earn “Chicago” its title as one of the greatest musicals in Broadway history. The Overture’s production is no exception.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raoxna4wgEg
