Fishnets and femme fatales: Chicago

It razzles, it dazzles – it’s Trinity Musical Theatre’s latest musical performance

A story of murder, greed, corruption, adultery and treachery…all the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts.” This tongue-in-cheek statement, uttered by a member of the chorus as they welcome us to the opening performance of Chicago, gives us an idea of what Trinity Musical Theatre has in store. Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, two murderesses competing for the attention of the public, each hoping to use their crimes to further their vaudeville careers with some additional help from their manipulative lawyer, Billy Flynn.

“While their characters spend most of the runtime trying to upstage each other, the actresses manage to complement each other vocally.”

The dynamic duo is played by Rua Barron and Rachel Galvin respectively. Velma is the cooler of the two, demonstrated in the show’s opening number where Galvin manages to look bored as she is carried across the stage, her voice never once wavering. Barron plays up the comedic side of her character through her exaggerated facial expressions and gesticulation, which works spectacularly for a character like Roxie, who’s almost childlike in her naivety and impulsiveness. While their characters spend most of the runtime trying to upstage each other, the actresses manage to complement each other vocally, particularly during their final duet.

Máirín Hayes plays Matron ‘Mama’ Morton, who runs the women’s ward in the Cook County Jail. Queen Latifah delivered a legendary performance as Mama in the 2002 Oscar winning film adaptation, and Hayes manages to slip comfortably into her shoes, delivering a very strong vocal performance. Joshua Hurley, who played lawyer Billy Flynn, stole every scene that he was in. His introductory number All I Care About, featured a selection of simpering dancers and some of the most impressive vocals of the night. Joseph Ó Baoill’s rendition of Mr Cellophane, as Roxie’s husband Amos, also pulled on everyone’s heartstrings and there was thunderous applause when he left the stage for the last time at the end of the show.

“While most musicals are remembered for their songs, the choreography of Chicago is just as iconic as its lyrics and music, maybe even more so.”

For fans of film there are plenty of additional songs in the stage production, including I Know A Girl, My Own Best Friend, and Class, a delightfully ironic duet between Galvin and Hayes. Another lesser-known number is A Little Bit Of Good sung by the reporter who documents Hart and Kelly’s murderous rise to fame, Mary Sunshine, played last night by Jenny Ní Chiaráin. Ní Chiaráin injected humour into her performance of the sentimental journalist and was a joy to watch.

While most musicals are remembered for their songs, the choreography of Chicago is just as iconic as its lyrics and music, maybe even more so. Cell Block Tango seemed to be one of the most anticipated numbers of the nights, as gasps could be heard from the audience as the Six Merry Murderesses strutted onstage and recounted how they’d ended up behind bars. The chorus had numerous opportunities to demonstrate their skills, as the vast majority of songs feature some degree of dance. However, the stage did appear a little crowded at times and, in the case of All That Jazz, this took away from the experience somewhat. Fortunately, the chorus managed to make this work in other performances, such as when they formed a mob of journalists during the fantastic Both Reached For The Gun, or when they did cartwheels across the stage and waved streamers during Razzle Dazzle, a song all about distracting an audience with a spectacle.

The choreography of the performers was wonderful to watch. The dancers moved in perfect synchronisation, almost as a hive-mind, and TMT managed to pay homage to the traditional choreography while maintaining its own unique flavour. Credit must be given to Cian O’Sullivan for his work, as well as to Molly Burke for directing the orchestra. Chicago would be nothing without its energetic jazz-based score and it was refreshing to see the orchestra onstage where they could interact with the characters, as opposed to hidden under a pit.

“Though set in the 1920s, this satirical take on the ‘celebrity criminal’ phenomenon feels even more relevant now with documentaries like The Ted Bundy Tapes taking the world by storm.”

A lot of hard work clearly went into creating a distinct atmosphere, from the stage and set, to the lighting and effects, and to the costumes. Chloe Aitken and Susan Bryan were in charge of set design and costumes and their efforts certainly didn’t go to waste, succeeding in making the production immersive. Both Eoin Hannaway, the show’s director and Emily Hogarty, the musical director, put a tremendous amount of talent and energy into this show, which did not go unnoticed by the appreciative crowd.

Though set in the 1920s, this satirical take on the celebrity criminal phenomenon feels even more relevant now with documentaries like The Ted Bundy Tapes taking the world by storm, and debates surrounding the sensationalization of violent crime. The musical is staged like a vaudeville show and all of the musical numbers, excluding the opening and finale, are clearly taking place inside the characters’ heads. Their songs are sung directly to the audience, inviting us in. This was also achieved through fourth-wall breaks from Velma, and Billy Flynn requesting that his exit music be played as he walked offstage. These unique features really make this musical stand out from the likes of Wicked or The Sound of Music.

As the first performance of the show came to a close, almost everyone seemed to be singing Chicago’s songs as we exited the theatre, a testament to TMT’s enthralling production. TMT is holding three more sold-out performances of Chicago this week: tonight, on Friday and on Saturday.

Some names were misspelled in an earlier version of this article. The article was updated at 14.42pm, February 21st, 2019