By Judith Cookis Rubens
It's hard not to envision a time when the musical "Chicago" doesn't resonate.
Forget its blockbuster score and choreographed glitz. At its core, it's a story about a corrupt legal system and the fickleness of celebrity culture. Given the recent media coverage of the Casey Anthony verdict, the Barn Theatre's current production of this 1975 Kander and Ebb classic feels extra timely.
Director Hans Friedrich joyfully brings tongue-in-cheek humor to such dark themes and bankrupt characters.
Told vaudeville-style, we meet Roxie Hart, a cheating wife and wannabe star, who's killed her lover but hired a slick defense lawyer, Billy Flynn, to get her acquitted. Using a self-defense sob story, she gets the media on her side, but can't capitalize on her newfound fame before another celebrity criminal steals the spotlight. Irony is heavy here, as Roxie, herself, just took the focus off Velma Kelly, another fame-obsessed merry murderess in 1920s Chicago.
This production plays up the satire, aiming for broad, almost-slapstick laughs and appropriately silly ad libs during slight opening night hiccups.
The humor works, but wouldn't be enough to win us over without a backdrop of strong musical numbers. These are anchored by a rockin' six-piece band, led by music director John Jay Espino.
You'll likely recognize many classics. Opening numbers "All That Jazz" and "Cell Block Tango" come off a tad underwhelming, but things heat up with "We Both Reached for the Gun," the creative number where Billy Flynn (Eric Parker) pulls Roxie's strings in ventriloquist/dummy fashion. Billy and company's second act "Razzle Dazzle" solidly wins us over.
Leading ladies Roxie (Emily May Smith) and Velma (Katrina Chizek) don't need to razzle dazzle anybody – their triple threat talents are the real deal.
As Roxie, Smith is deliciously infectious as an unrepentant killer who can morph into a flirtatious victim. Her voice is beautiful, but at times, she gets overpowered by Chizek's Velma, something that probably has more to do with a faulty mic. Roxie's take-charge numbers with her chorus boys are smile-inducing.
Chizek's tough-girl Velma keeps the energy high, coming closest to articulating Bob Fosse's signature moves and belting out show-stoppers like "I Can't Do It Alone." Chizek's great duet, "Class," with brazen prison matron Mama Morton (Jenna Petardi), is a bawdy treat.
Parker's slick Billy Flynn gets laughs with his sharp tongue, while Roy Brown delivers a particularly poignant "Mister Cellophane" as Amos, Roxie's cuckolded husband.
Choreographer Jamey Grisham admirably tries to recreate the provocative Fosse pelvic thrusts and wrist flicks, but the cast needs work to make it as precise and polished as Fosse intended.
Still, the entire ensemble is vocally impressive, and other standouts include the merry murderesses who liven up Cook County jail, and Carver Duncan, who gamely portrays each bewildered jury member to big laughs.
Given today's continuing fascination with turning criminals into celebrities, it doesn't look like "Chicago's" sizzling satire will go out of fashion anytime soon.
REVIEW:
'Chicago'
Barn Theatre, 13351 W. M-96, Augusta. Tuesday-Sunday through July 24. $34. 269-731-4121. http://www.barntheatre.com
