Chicago – Adelaide Youth Theatre

Chicago – Adelaide Youth Theatre

This production had dual casts in the principal roles. In the interests of fairness to all, TASA reviewed both casts. Brian Godfrey reviewed both the  Guilty and the Not Guilty casts.

“Chicago” is an icon of Musical Theatre. It is as classic as “Oklahoma” and as popular as “Grease”. It is also in a class of its own with some of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s greatest songs – who doesn’t know at least “All That Jazz” and “Razzle Dazzle” – and famous for the late great Bob Fosse’s innovative choreography.

Whilst a musical dealing with murder, vice, corruption, sex and all the other ‘good’ components of Life doesn’t at first seem the obvious choice for a Youth company to perform, it is actually ideal to show off the talents of senior members; i.e. Young Adults.

I have seen quite a number of productions, both professional and amateur, but Adelaide Youth Theatre’s production, under the direction of Benjamin Riggs seems fresh, crisp and new. With his theatrical knowledge and expertise in musical theatre Riggs has loaded the production with great moments following one after the other and making the whole show look like a million dollars whilst stripping it back to the bare essentials. Musical Direction is handled by the wunderkind of anything entertaining, Mark Stefanoff. Along with Jessica Manning conducting, the orchestra is superb and the singing from all performers simply soars. Choreography as handled by Nic Collins is phenomenal. He has taken the basics of Fosse’s choreography (and let’s face it, when has Fosse’s choreography ever been basic) and melded it with his own clever ideas. The entire cast handle all of it brilliantly; as if they had been learning it for at least three months, when in actual fact, they had two weeks to learn everything! I reviewed this version twice (two casts of leads) and could have just as easily watched it a third time for the orchestra and choreography alone.

Before I mention the leads of both the “Guilty” and “Not Guilty” casts, it would be remiss not to mention the incredible ensemble that was the same for both casts. Incredible doesn’t seem to be good enough to describe the talent that these young adults packed into their performances; in particular, the precision and skill they all demonstrated. Fosse was known for his dancers having clean angles and the smoothest of moves and (again thanks to Collins) these kids carry it off big time. Hamish Skene as Fred Casely must be pointed out for his dance and physical deftness – he has a nice touch of comic behaviour as well. If he doesn’t end up doing professional shows, then there’s no justice in the world.

Not Guilty Cast

Emily Graham (Roxy), looking very much like Natalie Bassingthwaite in the same role, and Amber Fibrosi (Velma) took hold of the starring reins well. Graham was a stronger Roxy than usual, whilst Fibrosi played Velma with more likability than others have played her. Both characterisations worked and the girls played off one another convincingly. As the poor inconsequential, invisible sap of Roxy’s husband Amos, Ewan Pugh was delightfully and intentionally bland. We all loved him, especially when he let go in “Mr Cellophane”. No exit music for him, except our well deserved thunderous applause.

As shyster lawyer, Billy Flynn, Ethan Joy was indeed a joy to watch. This young man is a true triple threat. He showed real maturity beyond his years giving the character an almost Humphrey Bogart persona. His vocals also showed a maturity that belies his age. M. Figallo as do-gooder Mary Sunshine was hilarious, however their falsetto made them hard to understand at times. As “Keeper of the Keys” Matron Mama Morton, Bennett Blaine was dominant in her character and needs to be congratulated on her being a true trouper and continuing when there was a mishap with her mic. As she stepped onto the stage to deliver her first big number, her mic gave up the ghost and died. Blaine just kept singing and projected well with every word being heard without her unnecessarily pushing her voice. The conductor and orchestra must also be congratulated, as they brought the volume down so as not to drown her. Team work in spades!

Guilty Cast

Looking incredibly like a young Nicole Kidman, Annabel Wark made a wonderfully bubbly and ditzy Roxie Hart. Her vocals and physicality, along with her great comic timing really made the character live. Also showing her triple threat nature was Alessia Charman as murderess Velma Kelly. She sizzled with enough hardness and emotion to tug at our heart strings whilst also making us realise that we shouldn’t like the character – not an easy thing to do.

Riley Mobbs as Amos gave one of his best performances, and I’ve seen him give quite a few of them. He played Amos as such a ‘dweeb’ that one couldn’t help but like him. His comic timing and facial expressions were hilarious. As Mary Sunshine, H. Ince stole the show and deservedly so – their characterisation and comic timing were spot on. (One could almost suppose that they are related to that other talented Ince, Harry lol).

Billy Flynn was played well by Henry Tran. I’ve seen this young man perform a few times and he always pleases – this time was no exception. He seemed to play Billy with a gentleness that is rarely seen in portrayals of that character. It was an interesting decision that really worked. Ayeisha Everett as Matron Mama Morton made sure we got every double entendre in her song “When You’re Good To Mama” and impressed in her duo with Charman, “Class”.

Adelaide Youth Theatre’s production of “Chicago” really razzled and dazzled.




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