Chicago - The Musical Reviews

D. Murphy from Toronto, Ontario

CELLOPHANE

I took my husband to see Chicago. Me being a huge fan of the play and Movie, I was so disappointed that I introduced my husband to live theatre, with this version. I should have research more. The singing iwas great, just a little flat, it seemed that the enthusiasm was not there. I felt, I was at my daughter’s jazz recital, where tickets were $25, not $150. This production should be billed as “the songs of Chicago” . When Billy Flin made his appearance, I thought okay now we will see some tap dancing, nope, just a few jazz hands and upper body movement! It should have been wrapped in Cellophane and stayed in the closet. I gave it 2 stars because of the effort of the cast to stay seated on either side of the huge box, holding the brass band looked like they were having more fun than the cast singing.

John from Tucson, Arizona

LACKED ENERGY

I was surprised to see how much energy was missing from the performance. Mama was particularly wooden and Roxy seemed a little mousy in the role. The lawyer was very good. I don't know what was going on with Mary Sunshine but that whole situation seemed superfluous. The integration of the orchestra was interesting, however, that was the only thing that was interesting about the set design. The "casting" of the jury was inspired. But, for the most part, the performance seemed drawn out and the energy was low. I was expecting more.

RJ from Fort Lauderdale, Florida

NOTHING LIKE THE ORIGINAL

Chicago is a great musical. However, this Broadway Across America production leaves a lot to be desired. Both female leads were awfully weak and, sadly, they are not particularly good dancers. How well I remember the original and the revival (seen 3 times each on Broadway) and there is simply NO comparison. John O'Hurley is quite good as Billy Flynn. He actually came the closest to really capturing the flavor of the show. And, oh, they messed up the choreography something fierce! Yes, it's still worth seeing as it's difficult to destroy this show. But, a major disappoinment!

Scott Miller from Houston, Texas

CHICAGO - LESS RAZZLE DAZZLE

Wife and I went to see opening night. In short it was a pale comparison to the NYC and Movie version. Most main characters lacked real pop and believability. John Hurley, the male character of Billy Flynn was the only exception. John added his own flavor to the character and was outstanding and enjoyable to watch. Mama Morton, played by veteran Carol Woods was more wooden than Matron. I'm pretty sure that character is supposed to move when on stage ... not just sing (which she does well). The other characters tried to add their own flavor but,they just weren't consistent with the character. The lighting guy was on another page most the night and missed many que's and had the spot on wrong people. I suggest, stay home, rent the movie, pop some corn and save on the drink prices. You'll enjoy it more. .

Terri Burchess from Lincoln NE

DISAPPOINTING

Christie Brinkley does not have the voice or dance skill to do justice to the role of Roxy. The rest of the cast was fantastic and they carried the show. I would love to see it again with a professional singer and dancer playing Roxy.

Leah Tew from Atlanta, Georgia

LEFT AT INTERMISSION

I took my mother-in-law to see this show at The Fox in Atlanta, one of our favorite venues. We were very disappointed and left at intermission. We couldn’t understand what the cast was saying or singing, and the costuming left us guessing regarding roles. We had never seen the show before, so we couldn’t follow the plot and had no idea what was going on. Certainly the performers are very talented, but there just seemed to be a lot of movement and sound going on, with no real purpose. I have to admit that I was relieved when my mother-in-law indicated that she was ready to leave, because I was starting to fall asleep. A real disappointment, and an expensive one, too. We’ve enjoyed shows in our small, local theater significantly more than this one.

Theater Lover from Chicago, Illinois

DULL AND SLEEPY

This show was so disappointing. The cast lacked energy and cohesiveness, there were issues with volume throughout (e.g we were in third row center and could barely hear the words), and the whole show just fell flat. The leads were weak, and there was no spark. My daughter’s high school production of this show was frankly much better. Would not recommend.

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