Musical Theatre / Chicago. At Canberra Theatre, until September 29. Reviewed by IAN McLEAN.

The advertising promised a “sexy, pin-sharp and flawless” production of Chicago.  

The opening performance on Saturday afternoon just about delivered in spades. The well known story of murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery, treachery and “All That Jazz” was given a slick, sparkling and entertaining outing at a virtually sold out Canberra Theatre.

Zoe Ventoura as Velma Kelly and Lucy Maunder as Roxie Hart led a star-studded cast and dazzled with their dancing prowess, pitch perfect singing and excellent character interpretation. They were ably assisted by Anthony Warlow, an Australian Living National Treasure for his contribution to the performing arts, utilising his versatile and rich vocal style to perfectly fit the crooked nature of greedy lawyer, Billy Flynn.

Asabi Goodman shone as Matron Mama Morton and S Valeri was totally convincing as reporter Mary Sunshine while Peter Rowsthorn quickly established himself as the audience favourite in his role as Amos Hart, the beleaguered and downtrodden husband of Roxie and, interestingly, the only honest character in the entire story! His “Mister Cellophane” brought the house down and the sympathy he garnered at the absence of exit music as he completed his final scene was particularly moving.

The ensemble cast were as tight as drums in both singing and dancing departments with the original Bob Fosse choreography meticulously re-created by Gary Chryst. Particularly outstanding were the Tap Dance, We Both Reached for the Gun, and Me and My Baby.

The orchestra, comprised primarily of Canberra-based musicians, was excellent. The ensemble sound was well balanced with fine dynamic control and contrast while the playing displayed a mastery of numerous musical styles. The orchestra was situated centre stage on steeply raked podiums that dominated the stage and were utilised for many cast entries and exits.

This placement, and no doubt the vagaries of a touring production, did result in one of the few flaws in the show. There was insufficient room for jail cells to be utilised so the Cell Block Tango failed to achieve a satisfactory visual effect. The only other disappointment was poor staging of the Hunyak hanging scene. It lacked any sense of drama and, in fact, was tame and out of context with the production values of the remainder of the show. It seemed only to confuse the audience.

On the converse side, the courtroom scene was brilliantly staged and was the best interpretation of that difficult scene ever witnessed by this writer.

Lighting design was suitably dark and atmospheric while attention to detail in sound design allowed every word to be clearly audible. Costumes were perfectly suited for the subject material.

The enthusiastic audience of both Chicago devotees and others new to the story enjoyed every minute. It just about reached the mark of “sexy, pin-sharp and flawless”.