[NEohioPAL] REVIEW: Chicago, at Players Guild Theatre

[Tom Wachunas]

 Cheeky Cellblock Shenanigans  

ByTom Wachunas

 

   For openers,here’s a few my closing ARTWACH  thoughtsabout the Players Guild production of Chicagofrom back in April, 2018 : “… Maybe it’s a piquant metaphor. Reallife these days seems more than ever driven by insatiable social appetites fordebauchery and scandal, or for the rationalizing of our celebrities’ moralturpitude, or the self-congratulatory pleasure we take in witnessing theirdemise. Is the audience for such things as complicit as the perpetrators?...” 

    OK, gratuitous moralizing aside, maybe I was overthinking it a little. The factof the matter is that the big, funny, sizzling spectacle that is Chicago was made, ironically enough, allthe bigger, funnier, and sizzling to the point of boiling, when it played inthe small, intimate confines of the Guild’s downstairs arena theater. So it'sinteresting that the musical is being presented again - this time on the Guild’smain stage - so seemingly soon after that eminently successful run. In anycase, it's always a real pleasure to see a show directed by Jonathan Tisevich,as this one is, and with a typically superb cast. I decided to revisit it,wondering if the bigger space could give a bigger bang.

   Bigger spaceindeed. The stage looks cavernous and empty but for the towering, two-tieredscaffold platforms spanning the entirety of the back wall (scenic design byJoshua Erichsen). Helped along by the generally tenebrous lighting (designed byReed Simiele) throughout the show, it’s all a somewhat Baroque-ishrepresentation of cellblock gloom in Cook County Jail - home to a bevy ofvaudeville showgirls awaiting trial for various crimes of passion.Additionally, the front of the stage has been extended by a wide ramp floatedover the orchestra pit and stretching into the second row of house seats. It’slike a fashion-show runway, installed, no doubt, to shoot some explosive energydirectly into the audience.

   Yet thesecontrivances don’t quite fully succeed in launching a consistent spirit ofgripping immediacy, despite the excellent playing by the live band conducted bySteve Parsons. And yes, the choreography by Brandon Leffler is itself, like themusic, delightfully scintillating, but could use a bit more polish andprecision as executed by the dancers. There are many moments on this stage, wideand deep as it is, when the action feels too diluted, too casual, too… routine.It tends to ramble when it should strut more with crackling intensity.

   The trueelectricity, the real power and saving grace here, is in the compelling performancesgiven by Serena Fronimo as Velma; Sarah Marie Young as Roxie; Mason Stewart asBilly Flynn; Allen Cruz as Amos; Korreca Moore as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton; and J.Ball as Mary Sunshine. Each member of this remarkable core ensemble iscertainly a skilled-enough singer. More importantly, each fashions somethingmore than a shameless burlesque, something more than a merely farcicalcaricature of a flawed or quirky individual. 

   Theseperformers give us singularly memorable characters of credible humandimensionality, however lascivious, troubling or dark that may be. SerenaFronimo’s Velma is all prideful sarcasm and swagger until Roxie steals thetabloid spotlight from her. Korreca Moore’s Mama Morton, the cellblocksupervisor, is a gritty, fierce protector even as she glibly observes, “In thistown, murder is a form of entertainment.” Mason Stewart’s Billy Flynn is asuave, narcissistic crooner and a manipulative, greedy shyster attorney. Thehilarious J. Ball plays Mary Sunshine, a giggly gossip columnist in drag, andbrings down the house with a howling and hoarse pseudo-soprano aria, “A LittleBit of Good.”

   A more tender, though equally show-stoppingscene features Allen Cruz, playing Roxie’s hapless and timid mechanic husband,Amos, singing “Mister Cellophane.” In this self-deprecating, bittersweet moment,Cruz looks hard at his character’s social invisibility. 

   And finally,Roxie. Aside from being a comedic powerhouse, Sarah Marie Young serves up adeliciously complex portrait that’s altogether riveting. She’s a lithe andlimber embodiment of sultry sensuality, nutty naiveté, and dauntless determinationto be a vaudeville icon. What a combination – salacious sass, slinky sashays,lusty laughs… and of course, all that Jazz.

   Chicago / Players Guild Theatremainstage THROUGH OCTOBER 6, 2019 /   CulturalCenter for the Arts, 1001 Market Ave. N, Canton, Ohio / Shows at 8 p.m. Fridayand Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday ( 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5) / TICKETS:$34 ($31 for seniors 65 and older), $27 for 17 and younger / may be ordered at  www.PlayersGuildTheatre.com   and 330-453-7619.

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