Chicago A Warming Night Of Razzle Dazzle On A Cold Autumn Night

The stark black stage surrounded by an orange proscenium arch met us as we entered the theatre, with the band on-stage and part of the action I was immediately transported to 1920s America and a smoky jazz club. From the opening number All That Jazz with wonderful Bob Fosse style dancing I knew I was in for an unforgettable evening.

Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart (Faye Brookes), a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly (Djalenga Scott), by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer Billy Flynn (Kevin Clifton) to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily have been ripped from today's tabloids.

From the pen of the talented musical theatre pairing of John Kander and Fred Ebb the memorable moments just keep coming with the dances lovingly re-created from the original choreography of the legendary Bob Fosse.

The compelling sexy, sassy score has show-stopping songs sprinkled throughout Razzle Dazzle, Cell Block Tango, and of course All That Jazz. The fact that the show won six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy, as well as being the longest running American musical in Broadway and West End history.

Under the baton of Musical Director, Neil MacDonald, the10 piece band were as much a part of the action as the cast, performing in the real style of a jazz club band backing the singers and helping to create the perfect atmosphere. Matthew Wesley’s choreography was a recreation of Bob Fosse’s original and held the audience’s attention throughout.

As Faye Brookes and Djalenga Scott make the parts of Roxie and Velma their own, constantly vying to outdo each other in their bid to have their case heard and to be acquitted from the crimes they most certainly committed. In Kevin Clifton playing Billy I was fearing that the director would highlight his considerable dance skills and pleasantly surprised that this was avoided allowing Kevin to show he is much more than a dancer but a fully rounded musical theatre performer. I cannot avoid praising Joshua Lloyd playing Roxie’s downtrodden husband Amos, crushed by his wife’s relentless pursuit of fame his rendition of ‘Mr Cellophane’ a downbeat, lightly comic, sad song was a wonderful counterpoint to the upbeat numbers that surround it.

The whole cast were spellbinding, performing in the full-bodied Fosse style effortlessly, with all the hip thrusts, turned-in knees and toes, shuffling and finger snaps the are Fosse’s signature. Rarely leaving the stage instead sitting at the sides when not required they supported the main characters magnificently.

Finally, be ready for a few surprises as the show reaches its climax, things are not always as they seem in the steamy smoky world of jazz age Chicago. I left the theatre uplifted and revitalised by the performance, and fighting to stop getting out my jazz hands to spread a little sparkle into the late autumnal evening.


Chicago Braford Alhambra To Sat 26th October