Chicago the Musical Appreciation Thread

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Another Amra Fay Wright contract extension. Nooooooo!

[darreyl102]

Ugh… I am tired of Amra, I mean; she is just getting too stale in the part. I mean, why? Is she working for next to nothing? I am seeing the show again in March, and I will probably have to sit through another one of her dry performances. GRRRRRRRRR!

[jonartdesigns]

So i'm missing Brent Barrett by one day AND Amra got extended.... swell.

My current hope is that Donna is on the night I go, or Bebe just says "oh F*ck this" and performs both roles herself

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Wow, (according to Telecharge) from January 26-February 1, the cast of Chicago will perform 10 shows! They're dark on: Sun. Feb. 2nd and Wed. Feb. 5th, which means they'll have 6 shows for the week of Feb. 2-8.






Chicago

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

from Playbill.com: Super Bowl Sunday Performance schedule for Chicago and all other shows.
Super Bowl Sunday Performance Schedule

[jonartdesigns]

So having re-visited the show recently, I must say that Amra definitely has stepped up her game from the last time I saw her. She's still visibly losing steam by the end of the show, but her performance overall was WAY less phoned in. Bianca Maroquin continues to be the perfect Roxie and Bebe..... well she's Bebe, "When you're good to mama" doesn't suit her voice, at all, but its a treat to watch her on stage in a show she loves.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

I was looking thru the Chicago National Tour cast list and saw that Jason Patrick Sands is playing the role of "Billy Flynn" for most of the month of February in a variety of cities. Paige Davis and Bianca Marroquin are listed.
Jason Patrick Sands

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Normally, I wouldn't give Fox News a second thought, but Bianca Marroquin and Amra Faye were guests of the Don Imus Show. Here they are performing "My Own Best Friend."
My Own Best Friend

[HorseTears]

So, a couple of things:

1 - Ew. Don Imus. Also, did he have a stroke or has he always sounded like that?
2 - I don't get it. Amra wasn't awful. I guess she can actually wake up and perform when she wants to.

[ACL2006]

poor Bianca for not having her mic work in the beginning.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

It has been quite a while since there was a celebrity "Roxie." It has been years I imagine that a celebrity has been cast as "Velma". Why not have Jasmine Guy have a go at it again? It probably is tougher to find a celebrity Velma, since that role not easy at all.

[MissAnneThrop]

Christie Brinkley was the last "celebrity" Roxie in 2012 and Vicki Lewis was the last "celebrity" Velma back in 2001.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Yikes, so it's been about 12 years or so since there's been a celebrity Velma. Since that's the case, it does seem time that a concerted effort is made to find such a person. The show would benefit from it.

[ljay889]

Now if only Amra always performed like that!

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

I just had a fleeting thought. Since "Chicago" would benefit from having a brand new "Velma", I think Patina Miller would be a brilliant choice. She wouldn't have to do a long term contract, maybe even 8 weeks or so. Who knows if she would even consider taking on the role of "Velma"? She'd be perfection, I believe.

[HorseTears]

I'm sure she'd do a great job, but after her success in Sister Act and Pippin, that doesn't even seem like a lateral move, let alone an upgrade.

[FishermanBob]

"I just had a fleeting thought. Since "Chicago" would benefit from having a brand new "Velma", I think Patina Miller would be a brilliant choice."

And how about Patti LuPone as Mama Morton after Bebe. And maybe we can get Hugh Jackman as Billy Flynn. Yeah, let's work on this.

[jonartdesigns]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Samantha Barks should make her b'way debut as Velma. She's enough of a "name" to make the Weisslers smile, and she'd be fabulous. In a strange way I'd love to see Bianca take on Velma

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Jonart, I agree with you. She'd make a great Velma. Here's a video clip of a Univision dance show in Mexico called "Mira Quien Baila" (Look Who Dances). She does a bit of Velma in All That Jazz at the beginning and at the end. The chorus boys are kind of so so. She hits a phenomenal high note at the end.


Bianca Marroquin

[darreyl102]

That casting would actually be brilliant!!

[Phantom4ever]

Just caught the national tour of CHICAGO tonight in Chicago. I waited all day for it to show up on hottix.org, Chicago's version of TKTS, but it never did. But, a couple hours before showtime, the first 2 rows of the orchestra opened up and a friend and I snapped up two seats.

We were lucky enough to have the incredible Bianca Marroquin as Roxie and Terra McLeod as Velma. I've seen Bianca perform Roxie over ten times on Broadway and she is far and away the best Roxie out there. Tonight she seemed so beyond thrilled to play the part. And the audience laughed and clapped like I've never heard before. Perhaps that's because I'm used to seeing it in the tiny Ambassador and tonight I saw it in the barn-like Bank of America Theater?

The rest of the cast was a dream and I thoroughly enjoyed their charisma. I know people often complain that Chicago's casts "sleepwalk" through the show, but I've never seen that and tonight the cast seemed especially electric. I think they worked off the audience's enthusiasm as well.
Carol Woods was a hoot tonight and she played the part like her life depended on it, milking every laugh she could.

Side note: the girl next to me was texted through "All that Jazz". When the song ended and there was loud applause, she put her phone away and I cheered "yayyy! she put her phone away!" and she gave me a dirty look. 2nd Act: the phone came out again. But this time she stayed hunched over in her purse and all I could see was the back of her head. But, as the 2nd act went on, she leaned back gradually and soon enough the phone's light was in my face again. I finally said "can you please stop texting and put that away". We exchanged a brief "bitch I know you didn't" look and she put it in her purse and it did not come out again.

All in all, a fabulous show was put on by the cast and orchestra of the Chicago tour tonight.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

I was looking thru the Chicago cast list and noticed one new swing and one less Velma understudy. It appears that Stephanie Pope is no longer with the cast.
Chicago Cast List

[darreyl102]

Anyone know who is replacing Bebe as Mama? I am seeing the show the following Sunday after her last performance.

[HorseTears]

Roz Ryan, I believe.

[ACL2006]

maybe Pope only had a 6 month contract? She did 6 months with Pippin & 6 months with Chicago.

[darreyl102]

Thanks for that! I have my fingers crossed as Roz is one of my all time favorite mamas. I have seen the show MANY times, but this is going to be my parents first and I want it to be good!