The Warsaw Federal Incline Theater has finally stepped up to the potential of its facility for 2016 with its production of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago. This is a classic musical that debuted on Broadway 40 years ago; its still-running 1996 Broadway revival has set records there. A 2002 film version won the Oscar for Best Picture. The show, set in the Roaring ’20s, is a vaudevillian satire on corruption; its “celebrity criminals” — the murderesses Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly — elbow one another for headlines.
The Incline’s cast, solid from the top of the bill all the way through the dozen or so comprising the ensemble, is led by Hannah Gregory as Roxie and Alex Caldwell as Velma. Each captures and projects the essence of her character: Gregory handles the multiple levels of Roxie, from posed innocent to scheming manipulator, with winking aplomb. Caldwell, a fantastic dancer, gives ice-cold Velma a razor-sharp edge. Their solo numbers are polished and pitch-perfectly sardonic, and their “Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag” duet is a jazzy finale.
Chicago uses a series of step-up solo numbers by secondary cast members, and these are well done, too: Lesley Hitch’s Mama Morton delivers a tour-de-force “When You’re Good to Mama”; as oily Billy Flynn, Dave Wilson’s “All I Care About” captures his sleazy character; and as Roxie’s hapless husband Amos, Tyler Gau’s “Mr. Cellophane” is simply heartbreaking. Sean Mize turns in a humorous rendition of “A Little Bit of Good” as the bleeding-heart journalist Mary Sunshine.
Solo numbers aside, this show requires a coherent, disciplined ensemble. That’s precisely what director Matthew Wilson has put together, augmented by choreographer Angela Kahle. She uses elements of Bob Fosse’s iconic “jazz hands” dancing, but with a sinuous, organic approach that makes the whole production feel fresh.
One more thing: The construction of the Incline usually situates the orchestra in another room, connected by video to the stage with the sound piped in. But not for Chicago. The six-member band is onstage with two of them — pianist Scot Woolley and music director John Slate (with a keyboard and a banjo on his knee) — completely visible. The live sound is great, and I hope this musical configuration is used more often.
• The only things classic about the noisy Rock of Ages, onstage at Covington’s The Carnegie, are Hard Rock tunes from the ’80s. The boy-meets-girl story replete with bumps and detours provides the framework for this 2009 jukebox musical as it resurrects two-dozen classic Glam Metal Rock numbers plugged into the storytelling.
Drew (Kelcey Steele), a busboy and aspiring rocker, falls for Sherrie (Ellie Chancellor), a hopeful actress. He gets her a job at the Bourbon Room, a Hollywood club, but he’s not bold enough to convert a night in the Hollywood hills with a four-pack of wine coolers into a serious relationship. When Sherrie has a fling with Hard Rock musician Stacee Jaxx (Tyler Kuhlman with outrageous blond tresses), who demands the club owner fire her, she and Drew go their separate ways.
In the meantime, a father-son pair of urban developers from Germany (Matt Hudson, Spenser Smith) are buying up the strip occupied by the Bourbon Room for urban redevelopment. A lot of protesting and pushback by club regulars stalls this process, and eventually everything works out — to a big contagious ending featuring “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
If you didn’t live through the ’80s, there is humor, especially in the club’s cheeky sound guy, Lonny (James Jones), who serves as a very tongue-in-cheek, self-conscious narrator steering Drew and Sherrie toward an eventual happy ending. Lonny’s funny coming-out duet with gonzo club owner Dennis Dupree (Daniel Cooley), “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” does provide a comic highlight.
This production, directed by Lisa Bodollo, leans on Northern Kentucky University’s Commonwealth Theatre Company (NKU’s Jamey Strawn is music director), so there’s a lot of young talent. But it’s ultimately a lot of sound and fury, signifying not very much.
CHICAGO, presented at the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, continues through Sept. 4. ROCK OF AGES, at The Carnegie, will be onstage through Aug. 28.
