It’s on! Chicago The Musical, Albuquerque leg was done weeks ago but the sensation it brought to the one of the top cities in New Mexico today can still be felt knowing how this hit musical just made a parody of the American justice, just in case you think that it’s not yet a parody at this point.
It’s basically the story of 2 women fighting for their lives (murder is punishable by hanging during Prohibition) and the proverbial spotlight via the front page – Roxie Hart (Bianca Marroquin) and Velma Kelly (Terra C. McLeod). To call these characters as fame whores would be an understatement as incarceration in Cook County Jail is not enough to dampen their drive for fame.
Too bad much of the battle is won on Roxie’s side. From the lawyer Billy Flynn to the press exposure to the fanbase perhaps, this musical easily comes across as a commentary about the legal system. When Flynn himself is blunt enough in saying that it’s all showbiz, then a vaudeville-themed account of the trial complete with underhanded schemes to stage dramatic highlights to manipulate public opinion a.k.a. the jury.
For Roxie’s part, she had always wanted to be a vaudeville performer for sake of fame. But fame came ahead of the vaudeville career ironically at the worst time of her life. And this musical presented in the jazziest way possible at some point gives the audience a point of view of how Roxie, Velma and even Billy saw their situation. Amos having his own musical moment via “Mister Cellophane” felt like a need to be noticed.
This is theater so some of the acting done by the cast was expected to be big enough to encompass the whole stage. And it meant dancing the story away to accompany the singing done. Sometimes it’s less about the singing and more about the dancing. Acting? Well, it is not that perfect. Let me mention the ventriloquist scene where, for a “doll”, Bianca Marroquin moved a little too perky. As for Terra C. McLeod, she seemed bored in her scene “When Velma Takes the Stand”.
Comparisons are unavoidable but it can easily be understood that she opted for the “I’m so confident, it bores me” type of character treatment that McLeod applied for Velma Kelly. It works as a nice contrast to the loose cannon-type of character treatment that Marroquin applied for Roxie.
Roxie is a loose cannon. If only Amos didn’t get enough sympathy from Billy, he wouldn’t take her case. He got paid short but managed to earn some positive publicity for himself. It’s the kind of attitude really gets you thinking if Billy used to be a press release spin doctor prior to becoming a lawyer. It’s not through legal loopholes that he managed to get both clients, Roxie and Velma, acquitted if you would notice at the latter part of the musical.
A bored Velma, a perky Roxie and Billy Flynn trying to balance it out. Get the characters dressed in skimpy vaudeville clothing (with the exception of Billy, of course), add the vaudeville dancers to serve as chorus, back-up dancers and erstwhile tools for demonstration purposes like that trial where Roxie almost fumbled in following Billy’s script and you got yourself a show.
If the title for “Longest Running American Musical” is on, Chicago would surely take the lead knowing how the music and the dance moves made it an instant classic. Surely there is pressure for the performers to deliver. But when you have a choreographer who turned out to be one of the most memorable actresses to play Roxie Hart in Ann Reinking, expect the version to be loyal to how it was originally envisioned and all that jazz.
Well their run at the Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque just ended since there are still other cities that the Chicago National Tour has yet to go to. It was so successful that it even overflowed overseas. And chances are, they would be discussed here as well. So keep yourself updated by liking our official Facebook page, MusicalsOnline.com, and following us on Twitter @musicalsnews. Hope to see you on social media and interact with us.
