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Also this issue: Equal Movement Rights Faith in Freedom Ghost World Lights, Camera, Inaction |
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April 18-24, 2002
theater
ChicagoThrough April 28, Villanova Theatre 800 Lancaster Ave., Villanova 610-519-7474
It would not, on the surface, seem a good fit. The show: a gritty musical about a couple of dames with checkered pasts, requiring star-caliber principal performances and a dazzling ensemble of dancers/singers. The company: a small theater-training program within a Catholic university, led by a director whose credentials include priesthood. Yet Villanova’s season-finale production of Chicago is a beautifully staged and vividly entertaining evening.
Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, two good-looking Chicago murderesses with a taste for fame who learn firsthand the redemptive but fickle power of the media. It features an evocative score by Kander and Ebb, writing in their edgy Cabaret vein, and brilliant choreography by Bob Fosse. Originally produced in 1975, the show found an audience but was probably too cynical for the time.
Fast-forward to 1996 -- and a post-O.J. culture that was exactly right for Chicago's bitter tone. A Broadway revival was mounted with Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking (who re-created Fosse's dances) and a company that equaled the original. It's still playing -- exceeding the original and becoming the longest-running revival in musical-theater history.
At Villanova, Peter Donohue's production finds a kind of midpoint between the opulent 1975 version and the sexier, sparer reworking. He is immeasurably aided by choreographer Myra Bazell, who has cagily retained the profile of Fosse's choreography while refitting it for a group of graceful but (understandably) less-skilled performers.
It would do everyone a disservice to pretend that we don't sometimes miss the virtuosity of the original, or not to notice that, in these talented but youthful hands, some of the necessary bite is softened. But far more often we're enchanted by how much of the show comes through.
Nina Donze (Velma) has a terrific voice and a sexy, in-your-face quality. Charlotte Cloe Fox brings a welcome touch of vulnerability to Roxie, and she has a maturity of self-presentation as an actress that bodes well for her future career. Darren Lenz is a hunky, charismatic Billy Flynn, negotiating songs and scenes with obvious enjoyment. The supporting cast is mostly able and spirited. Dirk Durosette's bilevel scenery makes the most of the limited space; Janus Stefanowicz's costumes capture the period but don't always flatter the performers. Special kudos to the orchestra and music director Cal Brackin, who deliver the Chicago score with the panache it deserves.
