The musical and choreographic sensation Chicago is playing at the Paramount Theater this weekend! Chicago is a classic Kander & Ebb musical set in the 1920s, and is packed with some of the best choreography and most memorable music I’ve ever seen on a stage.
I saw Chicago and enjoyed it very much, which was a bit of shock to me, since I’m a modern musical type of gal. It’s one of those pieces that continues to be great long after it’s written (Chicago first hit Broadway in 1975, making it three and a half decades old by now!). Most theater fans who have never even seen the show will recognize numbers from it, such as the standard “All That Jazz.” Chicago is full of numbers that are exactly like what the title “All That Jazz” conjures in the mind – pure vaudeville, with bright and shiny choreography and snazzy staging.
The plot of Chicago is definitely PG-13, as it revolves mainly around a woman named Roxie Hart, who has been accused of the murder of her lover. The story follows Roxie as she goes to prison and encounters several other “murderesses,” all of whom killed a male lover in various crimes of passion and are trying to get off the hook for them. The story has a very clear political message, because as the plot develops, Roxie hires a very expensive, fast-talking lawyer to get her off the hook; a man whose strategy is to “give them the old razzle dazzle.” That is, create flashy stories meant to emotionally manipulate jury members and the public to get a favorable outcome. The message is very clear: if you win the hearts of the right people, it doesn’t matter whether you’re guilty or not.
I really liked those clearly political themes in Chicago, because the writers make very good points and observations. The show is also a bit satirical, poking fun at lawyers similar to the fictitious Billy Flynn character, as well as the justice system as a whole.
It’s humorous and fun and flashy all at the same time. It’s a great experience of classic musical theater, and for anyone who is a fan of the classic, 30s- and 40s-style Broadway musicals, you can’t go wrong with Chicago. This particular production that is at the Paramount is excellent, and filled with extremely talented people, including Seinfeld‘s John O’Hurley, and the Chicago veteran Brenda Braxton. If you’re looking for something to do over the weekend, I suggest you stop by the Paramount Theater box office, or click the link below and look into getting tickets for Chicago!
Tickets can still be purchased for all four weekend performances of Chicago here at the STG website. You can visit the official site for Chicago for more information about the show.
If you see Chicago this weekend, or attended one of the earlier performances, let me know what you thought in the comments section! I want to know!
Photo taken from applause-tickets.com.
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