November 18 marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of the current West End revival of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, but last night it was formally marked with a special one-off celebratory performance at the Cambridge Theatre. Producers Barry and Fran Weissler are past masters, of course, at the art of stunt casting (in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years, an actress who is attending an audition sings, “Why am I working so hard?/These are the people who cast/Linda Blair in a musical”, which the Weisslers did indeed do, when Blair did a stint in their mid-90s Broadway revival of Grease); but last night they pulled off the ultimate stunt, reuniting members of the original cast and many of their successors to share their roles between them – sometimes simultaneously, with three Billy Flynn’s at one point giving ‘em the ol’ razzle dazzle, three Mary Sunshine’s observing there’s a little bit of good in everyone, and six Amos Hart’s proving far from invisible as Mr Cellophane. (A similar stunt was pulled off in 2006 when the production reached its 10th anniversary on Broadway, too, which you can see some of here).
And if the onstage line-up of Roxie’s – from original Ruthie Henshall to Anita-Louise Combe, Jennifer Ellison (very briefly, before she rushed off presumably to do her current gig in Boeing-Boeing), Josefina Gabrielle (who must have taken a night off from The 39 Steps), Denise van Outen (taking time out of Rent, Linzi Hateley, Bonnie Langford, Aoife Mulholland and Claire Sweeney, as well as current incumbent Frances Ruffelle (at least to the end of this week) – was impressive, I also had this production’s original Broadway Roxie and its choreographer Ann Reinking sitting directly behind me. Across the aisle was director Walter Bobbie, and behind them, Barry and Fran Weissler; while next to my guest was Adam Cooper (for whom it can only surely be a matter of time before he is asked to take over as Billy Flynn, if he hasn’t already been asked, that is).
The Velma’s, meanwhile, ranged from still-slinky original Ute Lemper and current incumbent Amra-Faye Wright to Anna Jane Casey (ahead of her appearance headlining this Sunday’s Christmas in New York gala at the Lyric), Pia Douwes, Annette McLoughlin and Caroline O’Connor (who has not in fact done the role in this London edition but only did it on Broadway and before that in her native Australia).
I have seen this production numerous times between Broadway (first at the Richard Rodgers, then the Shubert and now at the Ambassadors Theatre) and here (first at the Adelphi, now at the Cambridge), but what constantly amazes is both how fresh and acerbic the show always feels, and how impeccably drilled the production remains. It was in particularly lithe shape last night, as were the original chorus who, ten years on, seemed to suggest that time had stood still as they opened the second act. Among them, I spotted Stuart MacDonald, an Australian dancer turned theatrical production office administrator.
At the curtain call, Barry Weissler commented that hopefully he would see us all here again in another ten years time; and although I’m sure I will see it many more times before then, I’m sure he is right and this production is here to stay. I never tire of it; and neither does the relentless enthusiasm and energy of the cast seem to flag, either.
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