Review: "Chicago."

November 25, 2009
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Highlighted by solid dancer from the ensemble and a spunky Roxie Hart, the Broadway in Indianapolis presentation of “Chicago” (Nov. 20-22) was a notch above previous visits from this Energizer Bunny of a musical.

The risk of going and going and going, for a show, can be a loss of focus, a sloppiness around the edges. That wasn’t the case with the well-cast dancers, who seemed to be giving their Fosse all on the Saturday matinee I attended. Particularly winning was Jesse Wildman, who played Mono, one of the Merry Murderesses, who carried with her a hint of Bob Fosse regular Leland Palmer. Also standing out in the supporting cast was Broadway vet Tom Riis Farrell as look-right-through-him wronged husband Amos Hart. The on-stage orchestra gamely kept the now-classic Kander and Ebb score feeling fresh.

The trio of leads had North America well-represented. Bianca Marroquin, who starred in Mexican productions of “Rent,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and “Chicago,” didn’t bring to mind such Roxie predecessors as Renee Zellweger or Ann Reinking. Instead, she carved her own “Sweet Charity”-with-an-edge persona, and it worked.

A fine, loggy dancer, Canadian Terra C. MacLeod, was too severe for my taste as Velma Kelly, unable to keep up her end of the fun. Tom Wopat, about as down home U. S, of A as you can get, picked up some of the slack with a jovial, well-sung Billy Flynn. (If you are still stuck with the image of Wopat from "Dukes of Hazard, give a listen to his "Still of the Night" CD. The guy's got musical chops.)

For information on future Broadway in Indianapolis offerings, click here.

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  1. First, the Athenaeum is going to have to get past the hurdle with the Lockerbie residents and the agreement that the parcel would be residential. Second, and in my opinion, this prime piece of property should include parking, PLUS, a black box theater(s), some market rate and affordable artist housing and a plan to renovate and reconfigure the second story theater. I would negotiate to add the DeHaan property surface parking lot into the development mix, place a one story surface parking garage on the DeHaan lot on the street level (for the Dehaan tenants use during the daytime) and add a second story to the garage that would become an addition to the current second story theater and then change the direction of the theater by moving the stage across the alley and on top of the DeHaan lot parking. You can add all the stage elements that are currently missing from the Athenaeum stage to make it more attractive for use by Ballet, Opera and traveling productions. Plus, the theater changes would probably help solve some of the soundproofing issues. Alas,it does not seem to be a part of the strategic plan to conduct a study to determine best use of the property. Seems like the current plan is a quick and easy move that ignores the property best use/potential and any strategic property planning for the effect on future generations.

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  3. Accoriding to their website there is no deadline to the Do Not Call list. What is this article referring to??

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