TheatreguideLondon
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Chicago
Adelphi Theatre, 1997 - 2006; Cambridge Theatre 2006 -

Songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb were always at their best with edgy, unromantic and even anti-romantic songs, so they were naturals for this 1974 Broadway musical about a 1920s showgirl who gets away with murder by manipulating the media. Chances are that no other team could have written the acerbic All That Jazz or that ultimate anthem of cynicism, Give 'Em the Old Razzle Dazzle .

Even the show's straighter numbers have a twist: Me And My Baby, which looks on paper like a standard love song, is sung by a jailbird about the imaginary pregnancy she's using to escape the gallows, while All I Care About Is Love is the totally unbelievable claim of a slimy lawyer.

So Chicago was never for your average Rodgers-and-Hammerstein fan, but there were enough cynics in 1974 to give it a healthy run. When director Walter Bobbie revived it a couple of years ago for a limited-run concert production, he cut away what little remained of Broadway musical romanticism by using a bare stage, a stripped-to-their-undies chorus and Ann Reinking's recreation of Bob Fosse's choreography.

You were waiting for that name to come up. Along with the film of Cabaret , Chicago represents the pinnacle of Fosse's angular and sexy style, and with all distractions removed, it is the engine that drives this revival. From the minute those dancers with their impossibly long legs and supple shoulderblades first slither across the stage, raw sex fills the air and we are in the hands of a master.

That's true even though this London production is entering its third year, and fourth or fifth replacement cast. Everything is as sharp as opening night, and they really give the impression of enjoying themselves up there. Unlike some long-running shows, you won't leave Chicago wondering what all the fuss was about.

It's not all perfect. The current star, Maria Friedman, seems miscast as Roxie Hart, with neither the leggy sexiness of a typical Fosse dancer nor the gamin quality of Gwen Verdon, and she has a hard time seizing the stage. It really isn't until her big second act Me and My Baby that she finds the right tone. Valarie Pettiford, as the more experienced jailbird Velma, is a lot more in control, right from the opening number. Michael Siberry isn't quite oily enough as the lawyer to efface memories of Jerry Orbach 25 years ago, and TV comedian Norman Pace brings little to the Mr Cellophane role of Roxie's husband. On the other hand, having the orchestra onstage makes exuberant conductor Gareth Valentine virtually a member of the cast, adding considerably to the high spirits.

But these cavils are minimal and irrelevant. The real star is the spirit of Bob Fosse, which is fully present. Until Broadway's Fosse (another Bobbie-Reinking recreation) reaches London, this is as close as a lover of Broadway dance at its best can get to heaven.

Gerald Berkowitz

SUMMER 2001: Former TV presenter Denise van Outen has confounded critics in doing an excellent job as Roxie and, while not possessing the stage or indeed vocal skills of predecessors such as Maria Friedman, she brings just the right cheeky sensuality the role demands. Michael Simkins is satisfyingly smooth if not convincingly slimy as the lawyer Billy Flynn, and Barry James deservedly brings the house down, as Roxie's husband Amos, with 'Mr Cellophane'. The other joy of the show is Leigh Zimmerman, joining from the original Broadway cast of this production, as uber-vamp Velma, giving the role everything you know it needs and more... Although in general this mid-run cast doesn't quite sizzle like the first - and understandly so - this still has to be one of the best ways to spend a night out in the West End.
Nick Awde

OCTOBER 2002: The Kander-Ebb musical continues to roll along at almost full steam, thanks to skilful casting and Ann Reinking's recreation of Bob Fosse's awe-inspiringly audacious choreography. The current female stars are absolutely first-rate, and if the male lead isn't quite as good, at least he's nice to look at. The cynical story of a 1920s showgirl who kills her lover and then gets off through her clever lawyer's manipulation of the media, Chicago is almost star-proof, since in this revival the chorus line doing those Fosse moves are the real stars. When we last reviewed the show two years ago, as a matter of fact, the leads weren't all that good, but it still worked. But it does help to have leads who fit the roles and can do the songs and moves perfectly. Short of Gwen Verdon, I can't imagine a better Roxy than Anita Louise Combe, who has exactly the right ability to be sexy, brash, gamine and funny all at once. She is a delight from start to finish. Anna-Jane Casey is also excellent as Velma, Roxy's jailhouse mentor and rival, with the same range and characteristics, so much so that I would be happy to see either one of them in either role. As lawyer Billy Flynn, pop singer Marti Pellow reads his lines as if they were in SerboCroatian that he had learned phonetically, but he looks right, and croons beautifully, so you don't really mind. Energy levels are high throughout, the chorus and orchestra are still sharp and, in short, after five years the show is still almost as good as it could possibly be, which is very fine indeed.
Gerald Berkowitz

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Review - Chicago - Adelphi / Cambridge 1997