And yet it all felt like the appearance of attitude rather than the feel, a lot of snapping on stage with little snap. The staging and lighting – from John Lee Beatty and Ken Billington, respectively – all looked fittingly shadowy and seductive, lone lightbulbs and spotlights sinfully cutting through blood reds, and the choreography featured all of the dramatic Fosse hat tips, sleek angles and jazzy gyrations one would expect. And yet something about Tuesday night’s performance felt oddly slack. With its two leads on fire, everything would then seem to be in place for a trip to "Chicago" worth remembering. "Chicago" gives its villainous vixens a lot to chew on – and MacLeod and Croman rarely missed a chance to bite. She’s just as sharp with the music and movements as her counterpart, and when the time comes for her self-titled show-stopper of a tune, it deservedly does exactly that, with her giddy mix of Vaudeville comedy chops and fine footwork. Her only competition for the spotlight is, well, her competition in the show, Croman’s Roxie, played as a pendulum rocking constantly between nefarious and naïve. From her first moments, seductively slinking to the front of the stage on "All That Jazz," MacLeod does her damnedest to give the show the sly, wry verve it deserves, complete with a bold, brassy voice that rings like one of the on-stage band’s trumpets. While George may hog many of the headlines – the show’s marketing certainly heeds the show’s message – "Chicago," as always, belongs to the leading ladies, and Tuesday night’s devilish divas were more than up to the task. He’s certainly a work-in-progress, but given time and the right roles, he could evolve from gimmick casting to good casting. He’s certainly got more personality and presence than other football players who’ve dabbled in showbiz, and he clearly had a hoot with the one-man double-act of "We Both Reached for the Gun" – including hitting and holding one of the song’s big final notes. That being said, by no means did George embarrass himself on the Marcus stage. The role is no stranger to those more famous than perhaps fitting – Olympic skater Elvis Stojko, for instance – and George relied more on that celeb status, as well as his dapper suit, to convey the slick, high-class huckster than his shaky, slight acting abilities. His vocals were on the weak end – in particular lost in the crowd during "Razzle Dazzle," which seemed just a touch high for his range – and those hoping to see the former Tennessee Titan tap or do his best Rashad Jennings impression likely left feeling sufficiently juked out. Helping write their storylines to freedom (for a generous fee, of course) is lawyer extraordinaire Billy Flynn, played by – surprise! – former football star Eddie George who – less surprise! – paled in comparison to his more-seasoned stage performers. So no, definitely nothing relevant to today. The two duke it out for the most salacious headlines in an era of reporters getting spun like tops, insta-celebrities, fake news and putting reads above all else. Unfortunately, that’s everyone’s plan in Cook County Jail – namely the vampy Velma Kelly (Terra C. After starry-eyed seductress Roxie Hart (Dylis Croman) gets locked up for shooting her sleazy man on the side, she turns her internment into the trial of the young century – and essentially an audition for vaudeville stardom. Whether a fan of past performances or its Oscar-winning film adaptation, the plot is exactly how you remember it. It’s fun, but no flimflam flummox that’ll fool and fracture ‘em. The Chicago prison and courtroom were decorated with dangerous femmes fatales, but the actual danger was out on bail.Ī musical with this many legendary showstoppers – not to mention Bob Fosse’s signature style – can’t help but be entertaining, but this rendition was more broad than biting, almost kitsch rather than crackle. The skin and slinky costumes were all dressed up, but the sly sexiness stayed on the rack. "Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery," beckons the opening line of "Chicago." All of that was most certainly present and accounted for as the famed Fosse-fueled musical started its week-long run at the Marcus Center on Tuesday night.īut for a show in which sin is near and dear to its heart, there wasn’t much sinful about the evening’s performance – and for "Chicago," that feels like a sin in its own right.
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