Chicago at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall
Prepare to be razzle dazzled.
Review
Itchy rouged their knees and rolled those stockings down, as a huge
piece of West End history shimmied its way into Nottingham, leaving a
trail of sequins and bright lights behind. Having been a long standing
show in London longer than our Olympic depression symptoms are bound to
last, Chicago landed in Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall and did not
dash our dreams of Showbiz success.
For those West End newbies, or for those who saw the film back when Richard Gere still had it, Chicago tells the story of murderous starlet Roxie Hart, and the journey to clear her name while making sure she hits the headlines. The cast is a soap fans delight, with Ali Bastian playing foxy Roxie, and feisty Tupele Dorgu playing the equally ambitious Velma Kelly; we happened to be sat next to Tupele during our pre theatre meal, and boy can that girl move after a bowl of pasta and some garlic bread! Itchy was very happy to see the dishy and dashing Steffan Booth filling the role of Billy Flyyn; we are still recovering from his performance as soft sap Greg in Eastenders.
Itchy's eyes were treated to so much glitz and glam that we felt as if Katy Perry's make up bag had exploded in our faces, and if the Olympics weren't enough to get us off the sofa and into the gym, then the sight of toned, sexy dancers wearing lace and tight leggings (that was just the men) should definitely do the trick.
Itchy was mad impressed by the small cast carrying off a variety of roles, as dancers became press, who became inmates, who became the jury. Normally Itchy experiences more changes than Paris Hilton's love life, as props are added and removed, but this clever production relies on the same setting, with the brilliant live band placed in the background during the whole show.
Our totes fave scene had to be the Cell Block Tango, as Itchy are huge fans are feisty women, and are still recovering at the amount of lengthy legs on show draped over chairs; we attempted to do something similar in the office, which resulted in a small warning and trip to the local walk in centre. With the show coming to an end in the, erm, West End, this UK tour could be the last chance to see such an exciting, clever and powerful production; we regret deciding to leave our flapper dresses and sequin bowler hats in the office now.
After Roxie and Velma dazzled us with their tappity tap tap jazz hands routine, the audience erupted with a roar of applause, and the band carried on playing as our bums didn't seem to want to leave the seats. We laughed, chair danced and felt the emotion from this sparkling show; if you've of been there, if you'd of seen it, we bet that you would have done the same.
Chicago runs in Nottingham till August 18, but you can catch it across the rest of the UK in the next few months - check out tour dates and venues here.
Kelly Holgate
For those West End newbies, or for those who saw the film back when Richard Gere still had it, Chicago tells the story of murderous starlet Roxie Hart, and the journey to clear her name while making sure she hits the headlines. The cast is a soap fans delight, with Ali Bastian playing foxy Roxie, and feisty Tupele Dorgu playing the equally ambitious Velma Kelly; we happened to be sat next to Tupele during our pre theatre meal, and boy can that girl move after a bowl of pasta and some garlic bread! Itchy was very happy to see the dishy and dashing Steffan Booth filling the role of Billy Flyyn; we are still recovering from his performance as soft sap Greg in Eastenders.
Itchy's eyes were treated to so much glitz and glam that we felt as if Katy Perry's make up bag had exploded in our faces, and if the Olympics weren't enough to get us off the sofa and into the gym, then the sight of toned, sexy dancers wearing lace and tight leggings (that was just the men) should definitely do the trick.
Itchy was mad impressed by the small cast carrying off a variety of roles, as dancers became press, who became inmates, who became the jury. Normally Itchy experiences more changes than Paris Hilton's love life, as props are added and removed, but this clever production relies on the same setting, with the brilliant live band placed in the background during the whole show.
Our totes fave scene had to be the Cell Block Tango, as Itchy are huge fans are feisty women, and are still recovering at the amount of lengthy legs on show draped over chairs; we attempted to do something similar in the office, which resulted in a small warning and trip to the local walk in centre. With the show coming to an end in the, erm, West End, this UK tour could be the last chance to see such an exciting, clever and powerful production; we regret deciding to leave our flapper dresses and sequin bowler hats in the office now.
After Roxie and Velma dazzled us with their tappity tap tap jazz hands routine, the audience erupted with a roar of applause, and the band carried on playing as our bums didn't seem to want to leave the seats. We laughed, chair danced and felt the emotion from this sparkling show; if you've of been there, if you'd of seen it, we bet that you would have done the same.
Chicago runs in Nottingham till August 18, but you can catch it across the rest of the UK in the next few months - check out tour dates and venues here.
Kelly Holgate
