Chicago razzle dazzles them at Milton Keynes Theatre
Temperatures soar with All That Jazz.
THE stage at Milton Keynes Theatre sizzled on Monday night when the cast of Chicago razzle dazzled an enthusiastic opening night audience.
You can never tire of the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical that owes its success to the sensational Bob Fosse choreography, its sexy dancers, and catchy tunes. Hear "All That Jazz" just the once and you'll be singing it to yourself for weeks afterwards, you may even try a touch of soft shoe shuffle when no-one's around.
Who'd have guessed that the suggestive roll of a shoulder blade could be so sexy? Who'd have thought that a story about transient fame among a bunch of beautiful but damned women in Cell Block Hell of the Cook County Jail would spawn one of the raunchiest musicals of the 20th century?
It helps when you've got a sensational cast and it doesn't come any better than this. Marti Pellow, EastEnders star Emma Barton and the ridiculously-named (but oh, so talented) Twinnie-Lee Moore are possibly the best threesome to play slick lawyer Billy Flynn and murdering chanteuses Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly I've ever seen at MKT.
Why is Emma wasting her time with TV when she lights up the stage with her megawatt charisma? She has it all - buckets of personality, a powerhouse voice, and stunning looks. Albert Square's loss is musical theatre's gain.
The story is set in 1920s prohibition Chicago and concerns the fate of a group of sultry jailbirds as they snatch their five minutes of fame before the judge in a bid to escape the hangman's noose.
Helping them – for $5,000 a time – is the silver-tongued prince of the court-room Billy Flynn – the Mr Fixit of Jail House Jazz – who flits from one woman to another getting them, and him, headlines in the papers.
"Murder is a form of entertainment," we're told and the desperate antics of these steamy convicts make front page news.
The red-hot show begins with the coolest of props. Fosse's signature bowler hat rests on the corner of a chair, a single spotlight trained on the image.
Enter the stunning Rochelle Neil, in bra and pants and not much else, to warn that the story is all about murder, treachery and sex. "Ooh good", we sigh expectantly, before the talented cast launch into the dynamite All That Jazz.
Everything about Chicago is stylised. William Ivey Long's costumes work on the Henry T Ford principle – any colour as long as it's black. The muscular fantasy male dancers wear ridiculously tight trousers that raise more than a few eyebrows in the audience while the women ooze sex appeal from their sassy wiggles to the vermillion sneer on their glossy lips.
But it's the dancing that inflames. Every movement scorches, every dancer demanding attention. It's so hot you almost need a cold shower before going home.
Moore comes on as flaming redhead Kelly (a double for Sherlock Holmes movie actress Rachel McAdams) and stuns everyone with the power of her voice. The lady has done, according to the programme, a little musical theatre, but she is destined for great things (are you listening Mr Lloyd Webber?)
But it gets even better with Barton's entrance and erupts with the arrival of Pellow.
When wee Scots lad Mark McLachlan started out in a band called Wet Wet Wet (what a name!) did he ever imagine he'd morph into a world-acclaimed jazz singer who even had an official holiday named after him in the USA?
Marti is compelling as Flynn bringing to the character a devilish charm first seen at MKT last year when he played Darryl Van Horne in the national tour of the Witches of Eastwick.
Adam Stafford, as Roxie's cuckolded hubby Amos, has his own few minutes of fame when he tugs at the heartstrings with the solo Mr Cellophane.
Even the on-stage orchestra, led by musical director Garth Hall, get their moment to shine with an outburst of fevered jazz.
Forget the West End and beat a path to Chicago. There's nothing to beat it.
Running until Saturday. For tickets and information contact the box office 0844 871 7652 or book on-line www.ambassadortickets.com/miltonkeynes
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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