This production has Sass, Pizzazz, and whole lot of Jazz.
Chicago originated from America and has become one of the most renowned musicals to hit Broadway and the West End; created by Kander and Ebb with the original choreography by the amazing Bob Fosse. The UK tour has begun, and it hit the New Wimbledon theatre with a bang. It showcases Strictly’s Jeanette Manrara as Roxie Hart like you have never seen her before. There is a cast of favourites from screen and theatre Darren Day who plays Billy Flynn and Brenda Edwards as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton. The story of Roxie Hart the devious chorus girl has its origins in the real gangster Chicago of the early 20th Century. When a junior reporter for the Chicago tribune was assigned to cover the trials of women accused of murder.
So, it begins Roxie Hart murders her lover following an argument where he tries to end their relationship. Roxie is married to Amos Hart played by Joshua Lloyd, aman besotted with his wife and he can see no wrong in Roxie’s actions. A cover up of lies ensues when she is arrested and on trial for murder. This propels her into dreaming of fame and fortune to be the most famous ‘criminal’ chorus girl in Chicago. With her very own boy dancers, a media following and big headline news. She meets a chorus line of other murderesses: entrance the wonderful Djalenga Scott as Velma Kelly and the rivalry commences. Not wishing to outdo each other Roxie enlists the help of Billy Flynn Darren Day a very shady criminal lawyer to represent her in court. With a fabrication of truths and emotion the aim is to win the support of the jury and the public that there was a miss carriage of justice, and she was the victim.
This musical is about celebrity status, corruption and the dominance of attention in the media.
The songs are instantly recognisable “Razzle Dazzle”, “When You’re Good to Mama” stunningly performed by Brenda Edwards and the iconic “All That Jazz”. The staging for this production sees the band seated on the stage with the Musical Director and musicians integrated into the performance, unusual, perhaps for ease of touring. This created a big band sound and their presence took up the majority of the stage, with the performers moving around in a space on the edges of the stage. At times it felt it was more of a concert than a musical production. You cannot deny the bands’ enthusiasm was a delight to watch.
The black tones of costume created shades of sexiness, dark and light throughout the story and true to the original Broadway Chicago.
The masterpiece of this show was the choreography, who doesn’t like to watch ‘Fosse’ style jazz hands, with the sexy poses, jazzy rhythms and classic sultry creeping moves. Like panthers moving in for the kill dressed in black and in control. Chicago is all about the dancing and it didn’t disappoint. Stand out performances for all the cast but the surprise was Janette Manrara as Roxie who knew! She fused the strictly dance floor with the musicality to be expected from an iconic show like Chicago. She brought Roxie to life, the accent, her facial expression created emotion you don’t always see in these types of big productions, this was very refreshing. Well done!
Regular theatre goers will recall the artists they’ve seen overtime play Roxie, Velma, this is a timeless piece of musical theatre, steeped in 1920’s Gangland corruptive Chicago where glamourous women murder their men in style to the tune of an unforgettable soundtrack,
This alone is a compelling reason to see it.
Playing until 14th June, https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/chicago/new-wimbledon-theatre/
Reviewer: Michelle Knight
Reviewed: 9th June 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Running 2 hours 30 minute with a 20-minute interval