This is my first time both at Bonington Theatre in Arnold and first (but definitely not last) time watching the incredible Copper Studios Elite team of teenage performers present the musical Chicago – a high quality teen edition.
Harry Hindley (Director/MD) and Megan Hindley (Choreographer) and their creative team have chosen to play the musical in the round and wickedly immersive. I don’t know if this has ever been done before but it most definitely works in the theatre space at The Bonington Theatre. There is a long central raised area and used with great imagination and there is also a smaller raised area on the left hand side. The audience are sat in rows generally but to add to the hot jazz Chicago speakeasy feel there are seats with tables and little coloured lamps. Hanging from the ceiling are half a dozen red lamps with bowler hats for shades. This terrific production team have considered every creative angle and then some more. Even the seating plan in your programme has names from the Cell Block Tango scene namely Cicero, Lipschitz, Squish, Pop, Six and Uh-uh. The atmospheric lighting is by lighting designer Peter Hodgkinson.
The talented cast number twenty and are predominantly young women with Billy Flynn (Eva Robinson) cast gender blind. It works so well that one is almost inclined to forget that Billy Flynn is usually male. Robinson brings so much pizzazz to her role.
There are equally strong leads playing Velma Kelly (Gemma Barr) and Roxie Hart (Isabella Streets) and Mama Morton (Isobelle Walker). All three add proper strong and controlled vocal talent to the show as well as great dance skills executed by Streets and Barr. Whenever all three performers grace the stage their professionalism lifts the already stratoscopic bar. Walker gets a well deserved round of enthusiastic applause for her gutsy ‘When You’re Good To Mama’.
Chicago isn’t Chicago without the Bob Fosse inspired jazzy choreography and choreographer Megan Hindley (a self confessed fan of Fosse’s dance innovations) has drilled the ensemble very well. They carry it off marvellously especially in ‘All That Jazz’, ‘Cell Block Tango’, ‘Both Reach For The Gun’, ‘Hot Honey Rag’ and ‘Razzle Dazzle’. With this being in the round there is loads of eyes and full facial contact with the audience on all sides. You really do feel involved in the stories.
The poignant ‘Mr Sellophane’ number is one that touches the heart and Finley Joyce (Amos Hart) wins the audience over completely with his sorrowful version and pathetic demeanour.
This classy production even has some cast members in costume as virtually silent 1920s greeters to the seedy world of the vaudeville joint where lady murderers mix and lounge with louche chorus girls and violent murder is regularly the hot gossip topic of the day. Highly recommended and I will be asking to review Copper Studios production of Newsies later in the year on the strength of their marvellous Chicago teen edition. And that’s jazz!
