Limes with Orange

My friend and I went to see a production of Chicago this afternoon, presented by the Front Row Centre Players. I've always loved the play. I saw it for the first time when I was a kid and one of my mother's acting students used to work the box office at the Royal Alex Theatre in Toronto. We used to hang around until everyone else was seated and then he would let us sit in the empty seats. That's where I saw Chicago and Sweet Charity, and others that I can't remember… I think it's the Bob Fosse shows that tended to stick in my head. And obviously I saw the movie and I thought they did a fabulous job with it (even if Renée Zellweger was distractingly skinny).

But back to today. I had seen the ads for this production of Chicago but hadn't been planning on going just because I'm so busy (and currently rather broke after buying my new couch). But then I got an email from Nikki—who played the female demon in my short film last summer—saying that she was the understudy for Velma and would be performing that role in the matinées. So I bought my tickets and off I went.

Already a huge fan of the script and the music, I was curious to see how it would be handled by a community theatre group. Overall, I think they did well. The singing, acting and musicianship were all very good. The choreography, however, was just so-so. Maybe it was that the dancers weren't up to anything more challenging, maybe it's because we were watching the understudies, but the choreography and dancing were definitely the weakest link. The energy, however, was great and the actors were obviously having loads of fun which makes up for a lot in community theatre, as far as I'm concerned. And I got to introduce a friend of mine to live theatre for the first time… so that was pretty cool, too.

And that's
Good, isn't it?
Grand, isn't it?
Great, isn't it?
Swell, isn't it?
Fun, isn't it?
But nothing stays

In fifty years or so
It's gonna change, you know
But, oh, it's heaven
Nowadays.
(listen to sample)

Labels: film, music, pop culture, theatre