BWW Reviews: Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre's CHICAGO is Stuffed with Star Turns, But Lacks a Little 'Razzle Dazzle'

Chicago, the second production in the Shenandoah Summer Musical Theater 2013 season, was stuffed with star turns by the talented leads of the production, but the production as a whole lacked a little of the conventional "Razzle Dazzle" one would expect from the sexy and scandalous 1975 musical.

Chicago tells the story of two murderesses Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly (played by Allison Petrillo and Robin Higginbotham, respectively) fighting for the publicity of the crime-ridden city and attention from the best criminal lawyer in Illinois, smooth-talking Billy Flynn (played by Jack Rowles), to save them from the gallows in the 1920's.

Allison Petrillo shone in her role of Roxie Hart. She displayed impressive comedic timing with the perfect touch of vulgarity for the lower-class vaudeville wanna-be. "Funny Honey", her opening solo, was a spectacular performance and perfectly displayed Petrillo's excellent comedic and vocal abilities. Robin Higginbotham was equally impressive as cynical vaudeville star Velma Kelly. She displayed a sharp, sarcastic wit, making Velma both annoying and easily relate-able.

Jack Rowles was slightly laid-back as suave criminal lawyer Billy Flynn. Though charismatic and charming, Rowles was very relaxed and almost bored as Flynn. Whitney Warrenfeltz played prison matron Mama Morton with a slightly new approach, showing an underrated sardonic wit and quiet compassion to the usually larger-than-life character. Her take on the role was very refreshing and her deadpan comedic timing was spot-on.

However, in this production of Chicago, the stand out pair of performers was not Roxie and Velma, as expected, but instead Amos Hart and Mary Sunshine stole the spotlight. Amos Hart (played by John Baker) displayed many nuances and layers in his performance, not the typical sob-story stereotype. His solo "Mr. Cellophane" was very poignant and heart-breaking. He portrayed an Amos with typical human impulses who is frustrated and depressed at constantly being ignored, even by his own celebrity wife. The scenes between Billy Flynn and Amos were truly incredible to watch, as the actors displayed excellent chemistry and comedy while playing off of each other.

As Mary Sunshine, Tanner Pippert truly stole the entire show. His introductory solo, "A Little Bit of Good" , was the standout performance in Act I, displaying his incredible comedic timing. A well timed gesture or expression left the audience eating out of palm of his delicately gloved hand. Pippert added just the perfect amount of old-fashioned mugging to many of his comedic bits to truly evoke the vaudevillian style of comedy perfectly in sync with the show.

Among the many ensemble roles portrayed in the show, Rachael Huben as the Hunyak and Matthew Lincoln Bugg as the band leader deserve a special mention for their fantastic performances. Huben as the wrongly-accused Hunyak, speaking only in Hungarian, relied entirely on her body language to convey her story to the audience. Her facial expressions and stage presence perfectly conveyed the pitiful innocence of the character. Lincoln-Bugg was very smooth and charming in his sporadic appearances as the bandleader, "Emcee"-esque character, subtly displaying the darker sides of the show through his introductions and bits of information.

Though the Act I number "We Both Reached for the Gun" was phenomenal and probably the best production number in the musical, the choreography overall was not particularly crisp. Ensemble numbers were entertaining, but some of the dances suffered from low energy and spacial issues, probably due to the set.

The set for "Chicago" was beautiful, but very awkward for the cast to maneuver dancing and precision timing or comedic gags around. The set features a large platform center stage. In a traditional Kander and Ebb twist, the orchestra is seated onstage, amidst the action, on the upper level of the platform. The lower level of the platform features doors which open and close to reveal a large moving stage level platform serving as the office of Billy Flynn, Mama Morton, Roxie's bedroom and other important locations in the show. The platform is flanked by two large staircases on either side and large cardboard cut-outs of prints of 20's styled pin-up girls. The set is so large though, that it cuts the enormous stage in the Ohrstrom-Bryant theater in half, leaving the actors only half of the downstage area to portray all of the action in the show. Some of the larger ensemble numbers, even while ensemble members utilized the staircases and upper level of the platform, still seemed very cramped and confined and some scene changes were slightly awkward.

However, in a particularly brilliant twist, since the orchestra was seated onstage on the upper level of the platform, leaving the orchestra pit below the stage empty, the orchestra pit was utilized as a set piece for the show. Actors used the pit for entrances and exits throughout the performance allowing for some very creative staging. Particularly impressive was Roxie's entrance into the show. She and Fred Casely (portrayed by Morgan McDowell) climbed the stairs from the orchestra pit to the stage as though leaving a speakeasy below ground and weaved their way to Roxie's bedroom through the ensemble members in the famous opening number "All That Jazz". The empty orchestra pit also allowed a hilarious surprise featuring the ensemble men in the Act II number "Me and My Baby". The costumes for the production were a well-matched mix of the black modern costumes seen in the currently-running Broadway revival of Chicago and vaudevillian styled 1920's costumes.

Chicago continues to run June 28-30 and July 3-7. Performances are at 8:00 PM on Wednesday through Saturday evenings, 7:00 PM on Sunday and matinees are at 2:30 PM on Saturdays with one Wednesday matinee on July 3 at 2:30 PM. All performances are located in the Ohrstrom-Bryant Theater on the campus of Shenandoah University. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://shenandoahsummermusictheatre.com.

Photo Credit: Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

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