Jealousy, intrigue, manipulation — all are themes of Bob Fosse’s provocative and innovative 1975 hit musical “Chicago.”
“Chicago” is the tale of two women hell-bent on achieving notoriety. Velma Kelley, jazz kitten, kills her cheating husband and sister. She retains Billy Flynn, a smooth-talking lawyer who manipulates the media and brings Velma more fame than she experienced as a club act. Roxie Hart, a star struck housewife, kills her lying lover and overshadows Velma’s press. The battle is on.
Fosse tried for years to convert the musical into a film. Little more than 25 years later, what seemed impossible has been accomplished. Miramax films released director/ choreographer Rob Marshall’s take on the classic. But rarely can the magic of musical theater be transplanted. The exceptions include the overwhelming successes “Grease” and “Moulin Rouge.”
Theater performance junior Laird Wilson saw the film and compared it to the West End production he saw in London this summer.
Wilson described the musical’s theme as “revenge … jealousy … and the dark side of getting everything you want.”
In the West End production of “Chicago,” Wilson described ex-frontman of the musical group Wet Wet Wet, Marti Pellow’s portrayal of Billy Flynn as “perfect” with a great singing voice and the look of a blood-sucking lawyer.
“My dad’s an attorney,” Wilson said. “So I’ve seen this sort of thing firsthand.”
With the production version fresh in his mind and a formidable background in theater, Wilson sat in the dark, almost empty theater to experience the musical known for energy and precision on a flat two-dimensional screen.
The film stars Richard Gere as Billy Flynn, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma and Renee Zellweger as Roxie.
Using more than box office appeal, Marshall’s high-stepping film lived up to its good reviews. Elvis Mitchell of the New York Times raved about “the raw expenditure of energy,” describing it as “exuberant.” The movie also raked in eight Golden Globe nominations. Some viewers were blown away by Zellweger’s performance of Roxie, as was Wilson.
“Renee Zellweger, by the way, really surprised me,” Wilson said. “I didn’t know she had it in her. I knew Catherine Zeta-Jones did, so she was no surprise.”
The film only added to what was already a phenomenal production, according to Wilson.
“The film preserves the clean professionalism expected from Broadway while adding the flair of Hollywood,” he said.
While detractors, such as Village Voice writer Dennis Lim, write off the film as a “most ballyhooed revamp” and Zellweger’s performance as a “huggable” Roxie as “exhausting,” “Chicago” remains a timeless classic beloved by many.
And, by converting “Chicago” to film, it is exposed to a much broader audience.
