The Hi-Liners have risen to the occasion once again -- this time with a busy production of the musical "Chicago." "Chicago" is the longest-running show on Broadway and the Hi-Liners' production highlights the reasons why.
"Chicago" is the loose retelling of two very public trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for a murder that occurred in Chicago in 1924. The story became a play in 1928 and much later the award winning musical whose book was written by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, lyrics by Fred Ebb and music by John Kander.
"Chicago" is a tale of murder, adultery and a perverted criminal justice system where the celebrity criminal is above the law. Hmmm, sound familiar?
The Hi-Liners do not hold back as they take on this somewhat adult-themed musical. This is not "Peter Pan." And the gritty side of Chicago in 1924 is not Never-never Land. Still this is a grand evening of musical theater.
The audience enters to find the cast milling around in filtered light behind a scrim. As the show gets ready to begin, we discover one of the leads, Velma Kelly (played by Lauren Khalfayan), is missing. After a bit of searching she follows her lover out of hiding, and the show gets under way with a rousing version of "All that Jazz." The pace does not let up.
All of the 38 actors in the Hi-Liner's production come to own the stage. However, I would be remiss not to mention the strong performances by Lauren Khalfayan as Velma Kelly, Alexzandra Gorski as Roxie Hart, and Kyle Stefani as Matron "Mama" Morton. These three, each in their own way, simply take over.
You can easily believe Velma Kelly is a killer with nerves of steel. Roxie Hart, the second murderer, is a little softer, but seems in this production to find it easier to twist men around her little finger than does Velma. The contrasting killers, who eventually become friends, help keep the show interesting.
The corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton is both domineering and sexual, just what this fanciful look at the women's block in Cook County Jail calls for. When she explains in the song "When You're Good to Mama," that if you are good to Mama she'll be good to you, that seems all right in this satirized look at jails and the criminal system.
Of course, no satirical look at crime and punishment could be complete without the lawyer we all love to hate. Nick Watson as Billy Flynn fills the bill. When he enters singing, "All I Care About is Love," complete with a chorus of fan dancers, you know the system is fixed.
The set is simple. The stage at the Highline Performing Arts Center has been stripped bare, except for one large set piece center stage. This one piece is staging for countless locations and over the course of the show the entire cast uses it. The lighting too is sparse, done mostly in blue, red and white which is reminiscent of vaudeville's coarse lighting.
Costumes are almost entirely black, drawing attention to the showgirl roots of the female protagonists. There is ample skin, but less than you would see at the beach during these late summer 80-degree days.
Debuting September 10, "Chicago" runs Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. through September 25 at the Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St. Tickets range from $15 to $25, with children under 12 admitted for just $12. For more information and tickets, see the Hi-Liners' website at www.hi-liners.org.
