Chicago

Synopsis

Blues behind bars from the writers of Cabaret. Justice is on trial for the husband killing bad girls of shady Chicago. A chorus girl murders her lover but manages to get off through a strange assortment of allies. She forms an unusual nightclub act with another murderess with the hopes of keeping them both out of trouble. Songs include All That Jazz, Razzle Dazzle and All I Care About.

Our Review:

5 October 2009

There’s much to love in Kander, Ebb and Fosse’s Chicago: peerless tunes, sharp choreography and a satirical savvy developed from Maurine Dallas Watkins’ original Jazz Age play. The 2001 production brought all this and more to the Edinburgh Playhouse, but a little less is presented here in Glasgow.

Director Scott Faris has explored the show in no less than 16 countries worldwide. This might explain why this occasion sees him leave the darker elements of the story at the stage door, preferring instead to focus on the work’s lighter side. Nothing is left untold - we get the full tale of two cat-fighting, murderous glamour-pusses scratching their way to fame and fortune through notoriety - but it’s all done in a knockabout style that belies the facts.

This emphasis on fun is evidenced by John Lee Beatty’s set which grandstands the tight ten-piece Dixieland ensemble on the stage rather than in the pit. They play with panache but, as y...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

a caring friend - 15 October 2009:

Poor Jennifer, we love her deeply and just hope and pray that she gets better soon....

Read more and add your own review