Since 1996 |
  
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Chicago
the Musical
Chicago. The long standing musical production is currently in Dallas and as I took my seat on opening night I was more than a little excited. I love the theater. The energy, excitement and expectation. And the reputation of Chicago is hard to miss. I looked forward to seamless seduction of body moves and vocal arrangements. After all this is Chicago, where the gin is cool and the piano hot. And all that jazz. What I expected was Music Hall to be a noisy hall, where there's a nightly brawl, and, yes, all that jazz. Instead I found myself checking my watch halfway through Act 1 and trying to think of a reason to skip out during intermission. Nothing about this live musical clicked. These numbers have to be felt more than performed and although the cast went through the motions there was no passion. No hotness. It was much too stiff. Too stiff for a story of adultery and murder. There was no seduction. It looked like the prom queen dressing up as a vixen on Halloween night. It wasn't believable. When I found myself watching the band more than the dancers that was a sign that things were rocky for Roxie. The band was more than just a visual distraction. Their presence on stage overpowered the vocals and most of what was sung got lost before the third row. This may have been due to the lack of vocal ability of the main characters, Roxie Hart (Lisa Rinna) and Velma Kelly (Terra C. MacLeod). And let's not even talk about the acting. I feel mean enough as it is. In all fairness there were moments that did work. The cast and Billy Flynn's Tom Wopat) courtroom ventriloquist performance of "We both reached for the Gun" was spot on and saved what may have been a rapid decline of the first act. Even Matron Mama Mortons (Carol Woods) vocals on "When Your good to Mama", though powerful and full of soul, wasn't enough to kick things in gear. Act II gained little ground with only a minimal applause for "Mister Cellophane." A song that summed up the entire nights performance. Cause you can look right through meChalk it up to opening night and shaking the limbs loose. Maybe by this weekends performance things will be full of razzle dazzle. I honestly hope so. Because, as I said, I am a huge fan of musical theater. Chicago plays in Dallas at The Music Hall at Fair Park through June 17th. Check the main website, www.chicagothemusical.com, for dates in your city. With a look at Chicago, I'm Matt Mungle Matt Mungle (06/11/07) Matt is a member of the North
Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) and hosts the weekly syndicated
Indie Rock Radio Show Spin 180. Plus with his wife Cindy they do a weekly
radio feature, The Mungles on Movies. For additional reviews and interview
clips visit the website www.mungleshow.com
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