Chicago set to razzle-dazzle Manila

Come on, babe

Why don’t we paint the town?

And all that jazz

I’m gonna rouge my knees

And roll my stockings down

And all that jazz

Start the car

I know a whoopee spot

Where the gin is cold

But the piano’s hot!

It’s just a noisy hall

Where there’s a nightly brawl

And all that jazz

MANILA, Philippines - Oh, yes! Forget Catherine Zeta-Jones. Forget Renée Zellwegger (yes, the actress who transformed her face recently because she found happiness!). Forget Queen Latifah. Heck, forget Rob Marshall’s Oscar-winning adaptation because the real Broadway musical is going to be in Manila — and seasoned Broadway favorites are going to be in town to razzle-dazzle the city to complete submission.

This writer flew to the mystifying city of New Orleans recently upon the invitation of Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, David Atkins Enterprises and Concertus Manila to catch the highly-anticipated debut of this season’s touring production of the phenomenal Broadway hit Chicago. The beautiful and ornate Saenger Theatre, with its old world charm, couldn’t have been the most perfect venue to launch the third longest-running Broadway musical in history. (On Nov. 23, Chicago will officially overtake Cats to hold the record as the second longest-running musical after The Phantom of the Opera.)

Chicago is a dazzling and entertaining musical. To an ordinary Broadway fan like yours truly, I was instantly captivated by it as if I was watching a magic show unravel on stage from very first familiar note to the final curtain call. The musicality! The theatricality! The choreography! The lighting! The costumes! The iconic and symbolic spare stage set that represents the soullessness of the two main protagonists! And, oh, yes, the actors! Everything and everyone were topnotch!

Right off the first trumpet note to the first finger snap, this writer was immediately transported to the world of Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart and, for two hours or so, there was just no looking back. You throw all your cares in the air and you allow yourself to be seduced by the maneuverings and the wrangling of the two infamous vixens as they try to parlay their notoriety into fame. In hindsight, I think the reason why the story felt immediately familiar is because it eerily captured the obsession we have with celebrities today. We want them bad, we want them bold, we want them classless, we want them completely empty and then we move on.

But no. Not for this production of Chicago. Once you’ve been to the show, there is just no easy way moving on from it. The charm that the actors cast their audience will likely linger as it did to this writer for days and weeks. I even occasionally say “Hi” to the very gracious Roz Ryan, who I’ve become somewhat friends with on Instagram. Ryan essays Matron “Mama” Morton on the show.

This production of Chicago features some of the finest Broadway actors and actresses working today. Collectively, the three actresses who inhabit the roles of Velma Kelly, Roxie Hart and Mama Morton have over three decades of experience playing their respective characters in Chicago and have performed together since 2008 — and it shows on stage. Oh, boy, how gloriously it shows!

(Manila is in for a great treat. All three actresses are coming to perform their roles. This writer has an exclusive interview with them and it will be featured in another story. Watch for it.)

From the very minute the luminous Terra MacLeod traipses on stage to open the musical with the signature All That Jazz tune, the audience finds itself helplessly hooked to her — with help from the exquisite lighting that bathes her in a glowing bright white — and the saga that is set to unfold for the succeeding two hours. One can almost feel the well-heeled New Orleans citizens trooping to the theater hold their enthusiasm as they wait for the first opportunity to express their appreciation. And throughout the entire show, at every opportunity, as if on cue, the audience, including this writer, would vigorously clap and applaud the incredible production that we were witnessing on stage.

Terra brings to Velma over 10 years of experience. She first brought life to the role in a French production of Chicago in Canada and has played the part all over the world, including acclaimed performances on Broadway and in London’s West End.

The show’s ultimate bad girl, Roxie, does not appear on stage until after Velma has claimed her spot. Roxie, the ever innocent, sweet girl who does not hide her life’s desire to be famous, tries to grab the limelight and seduce the audience when she sings Funny Honey to her timid husband Amos Hart and to her lover who she just murdered. But the audience will not be fooled. We all know what she’s up to.

Roxie is portrayed in this production by Mexico-born superstar Bianca Marroquin, who made her Broadway debut in 2002 with this role. She brings to the character a Roxie that’s evidently feistier, more cunning and definitely superior than the Roxie portrayed in the film. And, of course, her singing is incomparable. Not to add that the actress who portrayed Roxie in the film is now nearly unrecognizable — but that’s a story for another day. 

The most seasoned performer in this production of Chicago is Roz. The very friendly actress holds a unique Broadway record: She has played more performances of Chicago than any other leading actress in the show’s historic 18-year run. She has been Mama Morton on stage for so long and it immediately becomes very apparent the minute she sashays on stage with enormous confidence and ownership of her character as the corrupt prison warden who is Velma and Roxie’s hope of fame and freedom — but not without cost.

Got a little motto

Always sees me through —

When you’re good to Mama

Mama’s good to you!

There’s a lot of favors

I’m prepared to do —

You do one for Mama

She’ll do one for you!

When Roz sings When You’re Good to Mama with such gusto and conviction, the audience feels like being trapped in her own cell block kingdom willing to be her subject and be obedient to her rules just so they can have that chance at fame that the two merry murderesses Velma and Roxie so desire.

There’s a certain perversion in watching and enjoying a show like Chicago but in the end what really matters is that this production brings to life an oft-lamented sick attraction of society to any headline-hogging news of people committing crimes against people while the poor victims are sadly relegated as back stories. Chicago is based on a 1926 play by court reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins who was so disturbed by the stories of crime and corruption in the city of Chicago and the concept of criminals becoming celebrities that she decided to write the play in the form of satire.

Her story seems oddly familiar today. One can change the setting to any city in the world and one will find the likes of Velma, Roxie, Mama Morton and Billy Flynn (the sleazy lawyer who makes criminals look more innocent than an infant) living in our midst.

And, sad as it seems, we may just have to live with it — and enjoy the decadence as a form of entertainment. And just as Roxie predicts her stardom when she sings:

The name on everybody’s lips is gonna be: Roxie

The lady raking in the chips is gonna be: Roxie

I’m gonna be a celebrity,

That means somebody everyone knows,

They’re gonna recognize my eyes, my hair, my teeth, my boobs, my nose.

Only one word will be on everyone’s lips in Manila after Dec. 3: Chicago! Make sure you are in on the conversation.

(Chicago is the inaugural production of The Theatre at Solaire. The show will run for three weeks and tickets are now available at www.ticketworld.com.ph or call tel. no. 891-9999.)