Following sold-out seasons in Perth and Brisbane, “The sharpest, slickest show on the block” (The Times, UK), CHICAGO is set to dazzle Melbourne when it opens at Her Majesty’s Theatre this week.
Audiences and critics have praised the production and the cast with five-star reviews. Australian Arts Review stated it was “show of the year”, while The West Australian called it “sexy and sophisticated, a musical masterclass.”
Australia’s leading theatre producer, John Frost for Crossroads Live, has assembled a stellar cast for CHICAGO. One of Australian theatre’s greatest leading men, Anthony Warlow, plays the cunning and charismatic lawyer Billy Flynn.
Returning to the stage to play the powerful and glamorous Velma Kelly is one of Australia’s favourite actors, Zoë Ventoura. Joining her as the irreverent and determined Roxie Hart is in-demand musical theatre star Lucy Maunder.
As Roxie’s gullible and hapless husband, Amos, is much-loved comedy icon and character actor Peter Rowsthorn, and following her star turn as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray, Asabi Goodman plays the tough and sassy prison warden Matron ‘Mama’ Morton.
S. Valeri features as the soft-hearted crime reporter Mary Sunshine, while the talented group of ensemble and swings comprises Hayden Baum, Devon Braithwaite, Olivia Carniato, Angelique Cassimatis, Todd Dewberry, Louis Fontaine, Chaska Halliday, Sarah Heath, Matthew Jenson, Ethan Jones, Savannah Lind, Kristina McNamara, Tom New, Nathan Pinnell, Rania Potaka-Osborne, Priscilla Stavrou and Romina Villafranca.
“Audiences have been giving standing ovations every performance to our extraordinary cast, led by Anthony Warlow, Zoë Ventoura, Lucy Maunder, Peter Rowsthorn and Asabi Goodman alongside the hottest ensemble in town,” said John Frost.
“CHICAGO has everything that people love about a Broadway musical – a story of fame, fortune and all that jazz, one show-stopping number after another and the most amazing dancing you’ve ever seen. Get in fast before the season sells out to enjoy the razzle dazzle of this New York institution.”
Set amidst the decadence of the 1920s, CHICAGO is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer Billy Flynn to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.
Based on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, CHICAGO has a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1996 Broadway revival of CHICAGO is choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse and is directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie.
CHICAGO features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer.
Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery, treachery… and All That Jazz. What else could you desire in a musical? The original and the best, CHICAGO is back. It would be a crime to miss it!
CHICAGO plays Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, from 23 March (opening night – 26 March), before playing Sydney’s Capitol Theatre from 9 June (additional performance now on sale) and the Adelaide Festival Centre from 4 August 2024. For more information, visit: www.chicagomusical.com.au for details.
Image: Zoë Ventoura and Lucy Maunder in CHICAGO – photo by Jeff Busby