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Stage

Lead actors bring life to old style 'Chicago'

By MARTY CLEAR
Published June 28, 2006

TAMPA - Considering it was a weeknight, and a summer weeknight at that, Carol Morsani Hall was remarkably full Tuesday evening.

Part of the reason, of course, was Chicago, the breezy and refreshingly old-fashioned show that helped put the fun back in musical theater.

But the presence of John O'Hurley, the popular actor who seems to get more famous every day, no doubt also drew a lot of people. The man who first became widely known portraying the bombastic J. Peterman on Seinfeld and then took home the gold on Dancing With the Stars was here in the role of Billy Flynn, the unctuous celebrity lawyer who turns murderers into megastars.

Fans of both the show and the actor had to walk away satisfied. O'Hurley, with his booming baritone and elegantly anachronistic good looks, seems born to play Flynn. In fact, he only had to tweak the insecure egoism of his Peterman character to make it suit Flynn's unctuous self-importance.

O'Hurley is the only big name in the current touring production, but Flynn is not the biggest role. That would be Roxie Hart, the chorus girl who murders her lover and parlays the resulting notoriety into show biz stardom.

Michelle DeJean is phenomenal as Roxie, and at times she even invites favorable comparison to Shirley MacLaine's great musical roles.

The show, with its famous setlessness (there's only a glorified bandstand, virtually all in black), depends on stylish and charismatic performances. DeJean and O'Hurley deliver.

Some of the other major actors don't quite make it. Carol Woods as Matron "Mama" Morton and Terra C. MacLeod as Velma Kelly are both adequate, but don't have the requisite magnetism. Unfortunately, they share by far the worst song in the show, Class, and the combination of their less-than-spectacular performances and the puerile song brings the lively show to a standstill for a few minutes.

The only really substandard performance comes from R. Bean as Mary Sunshine. The character is supposed to be shrill and cartoonish, but Bean takes it too far. At times it's impossible to understand Mary Sunshine's lyrics and dialogue.

Other than Class, though, Chicago is by far the most consistently enjoyable show created by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with one tuneful and amusing song after another. The onstage 13-piece band tackles the material with joy, if not an abundance of energy.

Audiences who have become accustomed to high-tech musicals might have some trouble with the monochromatic look of Chicago, with the performers dressed in black against a black stage.

And, in fact, it's obvious that the show is designed for theaters more intimate than the cavernous Morsani Hall. The sensuality and sexuality of Anne Reinking's choreography is greatly diminished in the back rows. For full effect, good seats (or at least good opera glasses) are a must.

[Last modified June 28, 2006, 06:49:33]