Review: CHICAGO at Tennessee Performing Arts Center

Chicago makes its way back to Nashville this week, making a tour stop at Tennessee Performing Arts Center this week. Tuesday night marked the opening for this sexy, yet satirically funny musical. With catchy and memorable music by John Kander and Free Ebb, and a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, this musical takes a hard look at what society views as fame and the role that the media plays in how events and people are viewed.

This production sets the stage for what's to come immediately when the curtain rises with "All That Jazz" and a rousing ensemble performance. Combined with the amazing costumes designed by William Ivey Long and the dark and dreary lighting (which fits perfectly and adds to the dark feel of the show) by Ken Billington, the audience is immediately aware that they are about to see something special and something with a definite dark feel to it.

Set in the 1920s during the vaudeville era, Chicago follows the journey of Roxie Hart, played by Bianca Marroquín and Velma Kelly, played by Terra C. MacLeod. Roxie wants to have her own vaudeville act and in trying to get that, she winds up in prison for murder where she meets Velma Kelly, a known vaudeville performer, who is also accused of murder.

With the help of Matron "Mama" Morton, played by Roz Ryan, and lawyer extraordinaire Billy Flynn, played by John O'Hurley, we see the media, and the public, be swayed by manipulative means. A prime example being Flynn using Roxie's husband Amos, played by the amazing Jacob Keith Watson, as a figurative chess piece in the swaying of the public opinion of Roxie.

Mary Sunshine, played by the superbly talented C. Newcomer, represents the media as a whole, and is the bleeding heart that Billy manipulates to sway the media's spin on the events surrounding Roxie's imprisonment and trial.

Some of the more memorable ensemble numbers like "We Both Reached for the Gun," "Cell Block Tango," and "Razzle Dazzle" were highlights of the show. One of my favorite solo numbers was "Mr. Cellophane," performed by Jacob Keith Watson's Amos.

Throughout the entire show, the dark aspect of the media, fame, and the desire to reach celebrity status are essentially made fun of. Sometime the acting and the lines are over the top, but done in such a way that you know they are making fun of the lengths some people will go to become famous and how easily the public and the media can be swayed by it all. "Razzle Dazzle" states it perfectly with the line that says "long as you throw 'em way off balance, how can they tell you got no talent?" I love the way this translates to modern day and our own obsessions with famous people and how those people got their fame.

Chicago plays at Tennessee Performing Arts Center through October 26th. Catch it before it leaves for a fun night out with your significant other or some friends. You can purchase tickets by calling the box office at 615-782-4040 or by visiting their website.

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