Review: Chicago, Hippodrome

Chicago is “a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery – all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts”. The tale of Roxie Hart, the former chorus girl on trial for shooting her lover in 1920s Chicago, is a satirical indictment of a legal system in which questions of guilt and innocence are determined primarily by the media celebrity or otherwise of the defendant, and where the best way to save yourself from the noose is to “give ‘em the old razzle dazzle”. It’s a spectacle of non-naturalism, a cartoon populated with louche, immoral characters in which everyone is out for number 1. It is also, in the words of the lady in the box office, “a bit racy”.

There is only one approved way of staging Kander & Ebb’s iconic musical, and this production sticks to the formula. A bare staging with the band on raked seating facing the audience, stylised performances, the cast somewhat under-dressed in an array of interesting undergarments, and choreography by Anne Reinking channelling the great Bob Fosse: bowler hats, angled hands, twisted bodies. If you’ve ever seen a professional production of Chicago (Rob Marshall’s questionable movie version aside), you can already picture the scene.

The problem with provincial tours is that they have a habit of casting familiar faces off the telly. Obviously there’s a commercial necessity – giant venues like the Hippodrome have an awful lot of seats to fill – but it does mean that the main roles are sometimes not perfectly matched to the show. Hayley Tamaddon (Emmerdale, Dancing on Ice, Coronation Street) offers a very perky Roxie, with an almost touching innocence and a slight surfeit of bubbliness. She provides a refreshing contrast to the cynicism all around her, but tonally her performance is slightly at odds with the stylised drama of the piece. It’s a bit like watching a CBBC Saturday morning presenter or Bonnie Langford pop up in an underground burlesque club.

Elsewhere, John Partridge as slick legal eagle Billy Flynn may be bringing in the EastEnders’ fanbase, but he is definitely the weakest link. He tends to swallow his lines behind his dazzling shyster smile, and his grand singing style is more fitted to Rodgers & Hammerstein than Kander & Ebb – more Oklahoma than Chicago.

Sam Bailey, though, makes a fine fist of Mama Morton. During her opening number she sounds a tad unsteady – has she got throat problems, is it scored in the wrong key for her? – until she suddenly lets rip and you realise how she won X Factor. For all their questionable suitability for their roles, it has to be said that these TV stars can definitely sing.

Ironically, the most outstanding of the main characters is the performer who doesn’t appear on the posters. Sophie Carmen-Jones beautifully captures Velma Kelly’s bitter hauteur and constant frustration at Roxie’s outmanoeuvring. She also fits perfectly into the Cabaret-like staging – a slice of authentic Chicago.

There are flaws in this production. Fosse-style choreography requires a perfection of synchronisation which is sometimes missing. Some of the big production numbers, like Billy Flynn’s All I Care About and the Finale, somehow lack bite. But ultimately, Chicago is staged to such a tight template that it’s quite hard to break it. It may not be a seminal production, but this is still a great opportunity to see a great musical which comes round all too infrequently. Just don’t take the kids.

Chicago continues at the Hippodrome until Saturday, July 9. For more info and to book tickets, visit http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/chicago-the-musical/bristol-hippodrome/