Review: Chicago, Bristol Hippodrome – ‘A sultry, slick, satirical performance that dazzled’

It’s 1920s Chicago, a time of prohibition, glamour, gangsters, speakeasies, loose morals – and all that jazz.

Enter Roxie Hart (Faye Brookes), a chorus girl in jail for shooting her lover and overnight tabloid darling who casually knocks fellow inmate Velma Kelly (Djalenga Scott) from the front pages and hires the same smooth-operating lawyer, Billy Flynn (Liam Marcellino).

The set is simple and dark, emanating forbidden, enticing interiors of bars at the time, with the band raised up in the centre as the performance kicks off with a sultry and sensational rendition of All That Jazz that introduces the audience to Scott’s enviable dancing and vocal abilities.

We meet the women on ‘murderess row’ in Cook County Jail who, in the sultry, satirical and beautifully choreographed Cell Block Tango piece, outline why the men they killed had to die.

Matron ‘Mama’ Morton (Sheila Ferguson) presides over the jail, sorting out potentially lucrative deals for the women when they are acquitted, a situation that is certainly lucrative for her. As Mama quips, “in this town, murder’s what they do for entertainment”.

Women are awaiting trial for murder in the Cook County Jail – photo: Tristram Kenton

It would all be completely unbelievable if it wasn’t rooted in truth. The musical is based on a play of the same name by journalist turned playwright Maurine Dallas Watkins, who was assigned to cover the 1924 trials of accused murderers Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago’s press and the general public at the time became riveted by the subject of homicides committed by women.

The return of the long-running, multi-award-winning musical to Bristol Hippodrome dazzles audiences from the start with a slick, sultry, morally bereft and brilliant performance, packed with high kicks, hit after hit and oozing with glamour.

Marcellino (filling in for Russell Watson) put in an admirable performance as the slick Chicago lawyer, epitomising the notion that justice is a game and it’s all about how the jury perceives you as he concocts the story of how Roxy and her lover, Fred Casely, ‘both reached for the gun’ before she shot him in ‘self defence’.

Jamie Baughan ‘Amos Hart’ performs Mr Cellophane – photo: Tristram Kenton

Ferguson as ‘Mama’ is one of the stand-out stars of the show with an incredible voice that raises the roof and plenty of witty one-liners, while Amos Hart (Jamie Baughan), Roxy’s hapless husband, brings both comedy and a poignant moment with his rendition of Mr Cellophane.

The band are brilliant throughout and captivate the audience with a jazz ensemble in the second half of the show, which comes to a climax with a perfectly-executed song and dance number featuring Roxy and Velma.

There’s a reason Chicago continues to be a hit with audiences after so many years. What better excuse to escape the humdrum and indulge in a little razzle dazzle?

Djalenga Scott as Velma Kelly and Faye Brookes as Roxie Hart form a slick duet – photo: Tristram Kenton

Chicago is on until Saturday at Bristol Hippodrome. Limited tickets are available via: www.atgtickets.com/shows/chicago/bristol-hippodrome/calendar/2022-04-28

Main photo: Tristram Kenton 

Read more: Review: Cluedo, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘Classic, fun, silly and carefree’

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: