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Cast:

ANN REINKING as Roxie Hart

BEBE NEUWIRTH as Velma Kelly

JAMES NAUGHTON as Billy Flynn

JOEL GREY as Amos Hart

MARCIA LEWIS as Matron "Mama" Morton

D. SABELLA as Mary Sunshine

MAMIE DUNCAN-GIBBS as Annie

MICHAEL BERRESSE as Fred Casely

JIM BORSTELMANN as The Judge

CAITLIN CARTER as Mona

BRUCE ANTHONY DAVIS as Martin Harrison

DENISE FAY as Liz

MICHAEL KUBALA as Sergeant Fogarty

Visit the Official Web Site of Chicago: The Musical

Order Tickets Online from Tele-Charge

MARY ANN LAMB as June

JOHN MINEO as Court Clerk

TINA PAUL as Hunyak

ROCKER VERASTIQUE as Harry

DAVID WARREN-GIBSON as Aaron

LEIGH ZIMMERMAN as Go-To-Hell-Kitty

MINDY COOPER

NANCY HESS

DENIS JONES

J. LOEFFELHOLZ

LUIS PEREZ

MICHELLE M. ROBINSON

© 1997 by Kardana/Hart Sharp Entertainment

Synopsis: The 1920's are roaring with hot jazz and cold-blooded killers. A the Overture ends, we're introduced to Velma Kelly--a vaudevillian who shot her husband and the other half of her sister act when she caught them in bed together. Velma invites us to sample All That Jazz while showing us the story of chorus girl Roxie Hart's cold-blooded murder of nightclub regular Fred Casely. Roxie convinces her husband Amos that the victim was a burglar, and he cheerfully takes the rap. Roxie expresses her appreciation in song until the police reveal to Amos that Roxie knew the burglar, and Amos decides to let her swing for herself. Roxie's first taste of the criminal justice system is the women's block in Cook County Jail, inhabited by Velma and other merry murderesses. The women's jail is presided over by Matron "Mama" Morton whose system of mutual aid perfectly suits her clientele. She has helped Velma become the media's top murderer-of-the-week and is acting as booking agent for Velma's big return to vaudeville (after her acquittal, naturally.) Velma is not happy to see Roxie, who is stealing not only her limelight, but her lawyer, Billy Flynn. Eagerly awaited by his all-girl clientele, Billy sings his anthem, complete with a chorus of fandancers to prove that "All I Care About is love." Billy takes Roxie's case and re-arranges her story for consumption by sympathetic tabloid columnist Mary Sunshine, who always tries to find A Little Bit Of Good in everyone. Roxie's press conference turns into a ventriloquist act with Billy dictating a new version of the truth while Roxie mouths the words. Roxie becomes the new toast of Chicago and Velma's headlines, trial date, and career are left in the dust. Velma tries to talk Roxie into recreating the sister act but Roxie turns her down, only to find her own headlines replaced by the latest sordid crime of passion. Separately, Roxie and Velms realize there's no one they can count on but themselves, and the ever-resourceful Roxie decides that being pregnant in prison would put her back on the front page. But after the Entr'acte, Velma cannot believe Roxie's continual run of luck despite Roxie's obvious falsehoods. A little shy on the arithmetic, Amos proudly claims paternity, and still nobody notices him, Mr. Cellophane. Velma desprately tries to show Billy all the tricks she's got planned for her trial. Billy's forte may be showmanship, but when he passes all Velma's ideas on to Roxie, down to the rhinestone shoe buckles, Mama and Velma lament the demise of Class. As promised, Billy gets Roxie her acquittal but, just as the verdict is given, some even more sensational crime pulls the pack of press bloodhounds away, and Roxie's fleeting celebrity is over. Left in the dust, she pulls herself up and extols the joys of life Nowadays. She teams up with Velma in that sister act, in which they dance their little hearts out 'til they are joined by the entire company for the grand Finale.

[ Copyright© 1997, BMG Entertainment ]

-Musical Numbers-
Act One
Overture	The Band
All That Jazz	Velma and Company
Funny Honey	Roxie
Cell Block Tango	Velma and the Girls
When You're Good To Mama	Matron
Tap Dance	Roxie, Amos, and the Boys
All I Care About	Billy and the Girls
A Little Bit Of Good	Mary Sunshine
We Both Reached For The Gun	Billy, Roxie, Mary, and Company
Roxie	Roxie and the Boys
I Can't Do It Alone	Velma
My Own Best Friend	Roxie and Velma
Act Two
Entr'Acte	The Band
I Know A Girl	Velma
Me And My Baby	Roxie and the Boys
Mister Cellophane	Amos
When Velma Takes The Stand	Velma and the Boys
Razzle Dazzle	Billy and Company
Class	Velma and Matron
Nowadays	Roxie and Velma
Hot Honey Rag	Roxie and Velma
Finale	Company

Click on the picture for a larger image. © 2000 Courtesy of LYK/Belle Calaway Website

Cast:

BELLE CALAWAY/TRACY SHANE as Roxie Hart

BEBE NEUWIRTH as Velma Kelly

CLARKE PETERS as Billy Flynn

MARCIA LEWIS as Matron "Mama" Morton

P.J. BENJAMIN as Amos Hart

R. BEAN as Mary Sunshine

Dates: January - March 2000

Cast:

BELLE CALAWAY as Roxie Hart

BEBE NEUWIRTH as Velma Kelly

BRENT BARRETT as Billy Flynn

MARCIA LEWIS as Matron "Mama" Morton

ERNIE SABELLA as Amos Hart

R. BEAN as Mary Sunshine

DONNA MARIE ASBURY as June

LESLIE BELL as Mona

JIM BORSTELMANN as The Judge

Courtesy of the Mamie Duncan-Gibbs Website

BRUCE ANTHONY DAVIS as Doctor & Martin Harrison

MAMIE-DUNCAN GIBBS as Annie

CHRIS HOLLY as Harry

MICHAEL KUBALA as Sergeant Fogarty & The Jury

MARIANNE MCCORD as Go-To-Hell-Kitty

JOHN MINEO as Bailiff & Court Clerk

GREGORY MITCHELL as Fred Casely

MICHELLE M. ROBINSON as Liz

DAVID WARREN-GIBSON as Aaron

DARLENE WILSON as Hunyak

NANCY HESS standby for Roxie Hart

J. LOEFFELHOLZ standby for Mary Sunshine

ROSA CURRY

MICHELLE POTTERF

JEFF SHADE

MARK ANTHONY TAYLOR

-Articles-

That Old Razzle-Dazzle

A Hot Wind Blows In From Chicago

Catch the razzle-dazzle of "Chicago"

Unreal Cities

Fresh Air Interview

PBS News Hour Interview

"Chicago" Hope

By Bill Rosenfeld

Click on the picture for a larger image. © 1997 by WAD Productions

In the fall of 1995, when the enterprising City Center Encores! series announced its spring season, there were some rumblings of resentment over the selection of the John Kander--Fred Ebb--Bob Fosse musical vaudeville, "Chicago," as part of the series. After all, in its short existence Encores! had produced concert versions of vintage musicals from the '30s, '40s, and '50s, including "Allegro," "Call Me Madam," "Out of this World," and "Lady in the Dark;" shows that may either have been forgotten or might not be given full-scale revivals. "Chicago" wasn't really a show that was waiting for re-discovery. We all knew about it--some of us remembered the original production directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse and the thrilling performances of Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera, Jerry Orback, Mary McCarthy, and Barney Martin. There was talk that a film version was in the works, there were even murmurs of a national tour of the show if suitable stars could be found. It simply didn't belong on the Encores! list.

But there it was, and on May 2, 1996, "Chicago" played its first of four performances to a capacity audience that can best be described as jubilant. The starry cast featured Ann Reinking (who also choreographed "in the style of Bob Fosse"), Bebe Neuwirth, James Naughton, Joel Grey, Marcia Lewis, and D. Sabella, under the direction of Encores! Artistic Director Walter Bobbie and Musical Director Rob Fisher. Critics and audiences alike watched and listened to a show that was so immediate and energizinf that by intermission there was talk about moving it straight to Broadway. However, a staged concert with two weeks rehearsal and a full-scale Broadway production are two very different animals. What worked for four performances may have been the quality of a "theatrical event" that the audience experienced. Could this same production be embraced by a wider popular audience than the musical theather fans already in attendance at City Center?

Enter Barry and Fran Weissler, the successful producers of shows ranging from "Othello" starring Christopher Plummer and James Earl Jones to William Finn's "Falsettos" to the hugely successful revival of "Grease!." After winning a bidding war for the Broadway rights to "Chicago," they found themselves with a unique challenge--how to change the perception of the show from a fantastic concert experience into a unique and powerful total production of the show.

Click on the picture for a larger image. © 1997 by Kardana/Hart Sharp Entertainment

There was no doubt that the show itself delivered what a Broadway audience craves--gorgeous music, astounding choreography, and truly memorable performances from a cast of stars--but how do you tell the public that this show isn't just another revival? The answer is marketing. On Sunday, June 23, a large advertisement in the "Sunday New York Times" set the tone: this production of "Chicago" wasn't simply going to be a transfer of a successful concert. The concert was only the inspiration; this was going to be a new production of a show that was going to startle and provoke us by its sheer thrilling showmanship. In the next few months the ads became edgier and more provacative than the standard Broadway audience was used to experiencing. And that was the point. When "Chicago" began preview performances at the Richard Rodgers Theater on October 29, it was a concert no more--here was a fully realized, energized production of a great musical. Walter Bobbie and Ann Reinking had refined "Chicago" into a black diamond of a show--sharp, dark, and dazzling. Instead of large scenis effects, the production was built around the galvanizing energy and personality of the performers and their songs. And the sow was ready to deliver what the artwork promised.

The opening night on November 14 was nothing less than electrifying. each number was a home run for the performers and the audiences' cheers kept the show's pace at a fever pitch. Broadway had rediscovered the greatness that is "Chicago" and embraced it.

© 1997 by Kardana/Hart Sharp Entertainment

The reviews, highlighted by a front page picture in the "New York Times" (local and national editions) were never less than glowing for every aspect of the production--the performers: "radiant" Ann Reinking (Sterns, "USA Today"); "sensational" Bebe Neuwirth (Kissell, "Daily News"); "commanding and funny" James Naughton (Zoglin, "Time Magazine"); Joel Grey's "pure show-biz electricity" (Brantley, "New York Times"); "simply fabulous" Marcia Lewis ("Daily News"); D. Sabella's "stunning voice and style" ("Daily News"); the "delightfully inventive" direction ("New York Times"), the choreography ("a reminder of a whole lost vocabulary of Broadway dance" "Time Magazine"), the designers ("John Lee Beatty's witty evocation of a giant witness box in a courtroom... down to the last flesk framing inch of William Ivey Long's sleek costumes, in shades of black and white, set off by Ken Billington's expert film noir lighting" -"New York Times") and the orchestra under the "sublime" leadership of Rob Fisher ("New York Times").

As for "Chicago" itself, the critics acknowledge that here was a show that truly had been ahead of its time ("a musical for the ages" -"New York Times"). And as Vincent Canby said in his ecstatic Sunday "Times" review: "Even the Kander and Ebb score is suddenly revealed (at least to me) to be on par with--and maybe ever better than--the scores for "Cabaret" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman." Mr. Kander's music, which makes free use of Dixieland, rag, soft-shoe, and jazz, jolts the senses one minute and a few minutes later, soothes them with harmonies of irresistible sweetness, which act as counterpart to some of the most caustic lyrics Mr. Ebb has ever written."

It may have taken Mr. Canby and his fellow critics 20 years to fully appreciate "Chicago," but better late than never. This production doesn't negate the original one that was so superbly realized by Bob Fosse and company--it celebrated the artistry that created it; the sheer guts and glory that is the American musical.

[ Copyright© BR, Courtesy of BMG Entertainment ]