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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect
the views of TheatreLouisville.org.
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Peer Reviews
Chicago:
Razzle-Dazzle, Go Out Big, and All That Jazz
Reviewed by Todd Zeigler
Entire contents are copyright © 2007,
Todd Zeigler. All rights reserved.
Chicago, legendary choreographer Bob
Fosse and Fred Ebbs' ode to vaudeville, cabaret
and the women you won't live to regret loving,
has a seductively simple core conceit: fame is
fickle. Yet it wears the irony of this idea like
a jet black come-hither garter peeking out from
beneath a just-too-short skirt. That is, quite
well.
The irony is that fame has been staunchly faithful
to this show. Its original 1975 run came close
to 1,000 performances. The 1997 revival production
has accounted for over 4,200 curtain calls to date.
The 2002 film adaptation made the Top 10 of the
year's box office winners and took home the Best
Picture Oscar – along with four partners
from the Academy.
The show has legs clean to the floor, and CenterStage's
current production at the Jewish Community Center
in Saint Matthews proves why: done well, it's simply
one helluva show.
The Overture and classic opening number "All
the Jazz" illustrate how far CenterStage's
reach extends into the Louisville arts community.
Three dozen superbly talented actors, singers and
dancers – most if not all of them triple
threats – share ownership of the stage. Choreographer
Sandra Simpson employs all their skills, and they
more than meet the challenge of an encyclopedia
of step styles.
The core cast is an intoxicating group with regional
and national credits. Melissa Shepherd of the University
of Louisville theatre department is a Velma Kelly
no one could take their eyes off of – much
to their peril. Femme Fatale would be an appropriate
designation, but no noir seductress ever moved
or sang like this.
Sherri Beshears-McNeely radiates all the hues of
the pure-as-snow-white (…well, her lawyer
said so!) Roxie Hart. And speaking of lawyers,
Alex Craig lights a fire on stage as Billy Flynn – because
someone that oily slick has to be hazardous around
matchbooks. Suave and sleazy never made hair look
so good. Monty Fields reminds us what terms like "galoot" and "big
lug" mean as the hapless and adorably pathetic
cuckold Amos Hart.
The set design shows marvelous ingenuity in staying
simple to suggest complexity. Bare black multi-tier
platforms function at varying points as catwalk,
dance stage, courtroom bench, gallows, and always
as a big band platform, a merry reminder that this
is all an act, and a doozy of a humdinger of one
to boot.
A select few quibbles with the production are minor.
The majority of the featured cast is mic'd and
well-mixed above the live orchestra. It becomes
apparent how necessary the microphones are when
the ensemble members' unamplified lyrical contributions
are muffled by brass and percussion. This can be
forgiven. Mics and sound-muffling technology are
a heavy investment, particularly with the amount
of blocking taking place on the band loft. The
acoustical conflict does nothing to either comprehension
nor enjoyment of the show.
The only other ponderable point is the wardrobe
choices for Stephanie Marcum's Mama Morton. Her
tenure in the big house would presumably set her
as one of the sexier songstresses in a cellblock
full of sirens. But her billowing adornments are
more suggestive of the furnishings of the warden's
private dining quarters than anything suggested
in her lyric or clientele. Still, comedy is an
equally important component of Mama's persona,
and Ms. Marcum proves it was a wise choice to go
for the laughs.
This and the other attractions of the season, including
The Sound of Music and Guys
and Dolls,
prove that CenterStage does not shy away from large
undertakings. The small novel that is the group's
playbill, which contains the company bios for the
entire season, is a great calling card for a community
company willing to bring together performers at
all levels to produce shows that can be enjoyed
by everyone. And that ain't just jazz.
Chicago
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
Presented by CenterStage at the Jewish Community
Center
January 18 - February 4, 2007
3600 Dutchman's Lane, Louisville, Ky 40205
www.jccoflouisville.org
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