Chicago Pics Link

March 21, 2003
Section: Lifestyles
Page: 1E


THEATER REVIEW
Drew Sterwald
Staff
News-Press

Beautifully timed `Chicago' also beautiful to behold
By DREW STERWALD dsterwald@news-press.com

The Naples Dinner Theatre faces high expectations from patrons who've already seen the smash movie version or the long-touring revival of "Chicago."

In either case, theatergoers will find a sizzling production performed here by talented individuals that can be enjoyed on its own merits.

The show begins with a thrilling take on "All That Jazz" that effectively sets the tone for things to come: lots of sassy singing and writhing, scantily clad bodies.

It's not typical dinner-theater fare - murder, adultery and corruption set in Jazz-Age Chicago. But the gamble's paying off for the theater's owners, who announced their season more than a year before the movie opened to wide acclaim.

Now they can cash in.

Fortunately, they have some bankable talent in their lead performers, Chrissy Wright and Jenny Lee Stern, and solid backing from the rest of the cast.

Wright belts out song after song as dark-haired vixen Velma Kelly, leader of a klatch of man-killers in the clink ("they had it coming"). A sometime choreographer for the theater - cast member Christopher Noffke did a terrific job this time - Wright fully embodies the character, physically and vocally. She really earned the audience's enthusiastic applause with "I Can't Do it Alone."

Stern is equally good as crooked kewpie Roxie Hart, who shoots her lover and aspires to Kelly's cellblock notoriety. Her "Roxie" number showcases a powerful voice as well as great stamina in performing the extensive choreography.

Barry Marcus does a fine job as lawyer Billy Flynn, especially on "We Both Reached for the Gun."

Director Michael Wainstein keeps the show's momentum building from the start. Scenes flow seamlessly together, and great attention has been paid to the details by Wainstein, Noffke and musical director Jeremy Randall (is that him in drag as Mary Sunshine?)

Even if you've already seen the movie, the Naples Dinner Theatre makes "Chicago" worth visiting again.





PREVIEW ARTICLE FROM DAILY NEWS
(NO REVIEW RAN FOR THIS PRODUCTION)

Centerpiece: The Two 'Chicagos'
Movie's blockbuster status and critical acclaim draw local audiences to stage show

Sunday, March 23, 2003
By NANCY STETSON, nrstetson@naplesnews.com

When the owners of the Naples Dinner Theatre were planning their 2002-2003 season, they had no idea that "Chicago," the musical, was going to become "Chicago," the movie, starring Renee Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere. And they had no idea that the film would become such a huge hit that it would be nominated for 13 Academy Awards.

Central character Roxie Hart, played by Jenny Lee Stern, finds herself in jail when her husband, Amos, refuses to lie to investigators after shooting her lover. Michel Fortier/Staff
 
Do they mind that they're presenting the same show onstage that movie theaters are offering on the silver screen? Not at all.

When they were auditioning actors in New York City, says Managing Director Stuart Glazer, "Half the people said: 'We feel so bad, it's horrible what's going to happen to you.'" But the owners view it as a positive thing. People who see the movie will want to see the show live on stage, they reason.

Besides, it's free publicity for the show.

"Everybody's heard of it now," says Naples Dinner Theatre artistic director Michael Wainstein. "Anybody who sees the movie and loves it is going to want to come and see the stage show. A couple years back I did 'Evita' in Boston, and it was the same thing — the movie came out. And we went from doing OK to selling out. It really helps." The Naples Dinner Theatre had to add a couple of preview shows before opening night and also added Thursday matinees. All shows through the first week of April are already sold out.

"I like them both," declares Mary Cavalluzzi of Marco Island, who saw the movie "Chicago" and the stage show at the dinner theater.

The first act's opening number, "All That Jazz," introduces the audience to Velma Kelly, playedby Chrissy Wright, center. The Naples Dinner Theatre has spiced up its production of "Chicago," according to artistic director Michael Wainstein. Michel Fortier/Staff
 
"I love live theater. I went for (that version) a little bit more. The stage show was more realistic than the movie because in the movie they had a lot of flashbacks. They're both unique in their separate ways. (The show at the dinner theater) was good. There's nothing like live theater."

Her husband, Peter Cavalluzzi, agrees. "There was a lot of back-and-forth in the movie," he says. "The movie wasn't as smooth, it wasn't as easy flowing as the show on stage."

"It's much more immediate," says Wainstein. As a high school student, he saw the show in Philadelphia before it went to Broadway. It starred Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach. The 1996 version won seven Tonys in 1997, including "Best Musical of a Revival" and "Best Choreography."

"There's audience interaction," Wainstein says. "That's what's so wonderful about this show, it's in your face. It's very out there and very edgy."

Set in Chicago in the 1920s, the show tells the story of two women: Velma Kelly, who murders her husband and sister, and Roxie Hart, who murders her boyfriend. Both wind up in the same prison, and both are represented by Billy Flynn, a fast-talking defense lawyer who gets sympathy for this clients by manipulating their public images and playing the press. Both Velma and Roxie want to be celebrities and are hoping their notoriety will catapult them into careers in show biz.

"Billy Flynn is basically an old-time Johnnie Cochran," Wainstein says. "There's one scene where they ask Roxie what she's going to tell the jury and she says 'The truth,' and they all laugh: 'The truth! Anybody knows you can't tell the truth!' He manipulates people. That's Billy's strategy, to get them to see it the way you want them to see it, bending them to your point of view."

In the number "We Both Reached For the Gun," Flynn talks to the press and casts Roxie as a victim who should be loved, not a murderer who should be executed for her crime. Though both the movie and the stage show have Roxie sitting on Flynn's knee like a ventriloquist's dummy, both approach it different ways.

In the movie, the reporters become puppets manipulated by Flynn, who appears as a giant puppeteer above them, pulling their strings. In the Naples Dinner Theatre version, Flynn (played by Barry Marcus) teaches the reporters dance steps and soon has them all dancing to his tune.

Jenny Lee Stern, who plays Roxie in the stage musical, is a more convincing ventriloquist's dummy than Renee Zellwegger, who plays the role in the movie version. Stern, all loose limbs and lolling head, lets Marcus do the talking for her.

Just as movie director Rob Marshall wanted to create a version of "Chicago" that would differ from choreographer Bob Fosse's stage version, Wainstein and choreographer Christopher Noffke wanted to create their own version of "Chicago" on stage.

Roxie's only hope of escaping jail time is Billy Flynn, who for the then-princely sum of $5,000 would take on Roxie's defense. Michel Fortier/Staff
 
Obviously, a movie can include flashbacks, incorporate special effects and has a much bigger budget. A stage version's strengths is its immediacy and the fact that an audience is seeing live people in front of them, singing and dancing.

"I've always loved the show," says Noffke, who choreographed the dances and also appears in the ensemble. "I've wanted to do it since the '96 revival of 'Chicago' was on Broadway. I was very influenced by Fosse's style — you'll see that. But I also incorporate my own style into it as well. It comes to life up there. Michael and I had our own vision of what we wanted to do that was different than the movie or Broadway versions.

"Our version is very different than the movie. We have much more dancing than the movie. Several numbers were cut from the movie, but we have them.

"The stage version addresses the audience," he says. "It's very sensual, very sexual, very hot, very jazzy. You can tell, you watch the dancers and you know they enjoy it, which means the audience loves it even more, which is great.

"It's hard to compare them; we approached it two different ways. I loved the movie, and I love our show, in two totally different ways. I think people will not be disappointed."