A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, two people turned up for a beginners tap class at the Victorian College of the Arts.
One was a library officer with ambition, the other was a student at the VCA secondary school.
After that beginners tap class they went their separate ways – one followed the dream into professional musical theatre, the other librarianship.
Now some many years later their paths cross again. In Sydney.
One is the shirtless 6 pack abs poster boy for Chicago. The other is a librarian. (No prizes for guessing which is me!)
But I digress…
This should almost be the ‘dream’ Chicago cast. Caroline O’Connor is one of the finest exponents of the Fosse choreography, and Sharon Millerchip is equally as good.
Last time Chicago played in Australia, O’Connor played Valma Kelly – when she left the production, Sharon Millerchip took over the role of Valma.
In this production O’Connor reprises the role of Valma, and Millerchip plays Roxie Hart. To see both of them in the same production is just brilliant.
This should have been an almost perfect night of musical theatre and from the opening number (All that jazz) it seemed like we were on track.
(I often think that ‘all that jazz’ is worth the ticket price alone).
Unfortunately the female ensemble didn’t quite ‘gel’ on the night.’Cell block tango’ which should be a showstopper – seemed a little off – can’t pinpoint why.
The male ensemble were fantastic – superb ensemble dancing and singing. Awesome.
Gina Riley was excellent as Mama.
Craig MacLachlan was ok as Billy Flynn.
The guy who played Amos – excellent (Mr Cellophane)
Will definitely see it in Melbourne.
