@ Playhouse, Edinburgh, until Sat 18 Jun 2016; and
@ King’s Theatre, Glasgow, from Mon 19 – Sat 24 Sep 2016; and
@ His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, from Mon 26 Sep – Sat 1 Oct 2016
Chicago in the 1920s was a place of glitz, glamour, jazz and liquor but there was also a criminal edge to this prohibition and vaudeville era which is where the audience meet Velma Kelly (Sophie Carmen-Jones) and Roxie Hart (Hayley Tamaddon) in this scintillating production of a musical classic.
Most of the stage is taken up by a jazz orchestra expertly lead by Musical Director, Ben Atkinson, but the orchestra is far from a separate entity in this production as performers enter and exit through the band area, the conductor gets involved in the story and of course, the music provides the perfect backdrop to catapult the packed audience head first into the jazz age.
Roxie Hart has just committed a murder and the story follows her journey from bored housewife to jailbird and on to sultry temptress. Tamaddon’s comedic timing is her forte in this role, providing many laugh-out-loud moments as Hart stumbles towards her court case. However, it seems unlikely casting to have a non-dancer in such a performance reliant role and this affects her stage presence as she struggles to keep up with the stronger dancers in the cast. Tamaddon’s voice, however, shows just why she is in the role with number after number nailed.
And she is not the only one. Sophie Carmen-Jones is impressive as the sassy Velma and she is a triple threat – acting, dancing and singing all superb. X Factor winner Sam Bailey plays Mama Morton with power and panache and John Partridge, best known for his EastEnders role, hits the big notes with aplomb.
But it is not about the individuals as the most memorable moments of the evening come from the popular big performance numbers featuring an impressive ensemble cast; numbers such as All That Jazz, the Cell Block Tango and Razzle Dazzle which retain much of the classic Bob Fosse choreography and delight the crowd accordingly.
It is a slick production but needs a more powerful presence from the leads to push it into a great one.
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