The thing about reviewing theater is that, unlike a movie, it cannot be guaranteed the show will be the same from night to night.
If something or someone is exceptionally good on press night, there's the hope that it'll be there the nights readers go. And if something or someone is truly atrocious on press night, it's also fair and just to let the paying public know, hopefully before they lay their money down.
The gray zone, where it can be tough to review theater, is when a show is so-so, when you can't tell if this is all a cast has got or if it's just an off night. Press nights are generally opening nights, and if you start imagining all the things that could throw a cast off its game pulling into a new theater in a new town, you can start to make concessions.
Then again, a national touring company should be able to get over whatever obstacles might make them a little sluggish. After all, every audience deserves a cast's A-game. If a show doesn't make par on opening night, who's to say it ever will?
There was nothing wrong with the opening night performance of "Chicago" as it began its three-week run at the Fisher Theatre. It was a solid, professional performance, and most people who see the show will not feel cheated.
On the other hand, there was something about the show that was like a bottle of soda pop left opened overnight. It may still have the flavor and some of the fizz, but it is undeniably a tad flat. All night long, it felt as though the cast was getting through on an ample supply of pride and professionalism but not much spark.
Part of the problem may have been that two of the company's three lead characters have been replaced for the Detroit engagement.
That's not to imply there is anything wrong with Robin Givens' performance as dancer-turned-murder suspect-turned publicity hound Roxie Hart or Obba Babatunde's as the slick opportunistic attorney Billy Flynn.
Givens plays Roxie with a gin joint bimbo approach that she works with precision, neither going too flat nor too over-the-top, allowing her to show a comic range that had gone untapped earlier in her career. Likewise, while her singing and dancing won't cause gasps of amazement, they are certainly solid.
For his part, Babatunde is arguably the best part of this production. Perhaps best known for his role in the UPN TV series "Half and Half," he is a veteran Broadway musical actor returning to a role he plays like a cross between Billy Dee Williams at his hand-kissing peak and the Jackie Childs character from "Seinfeld."
Individually, neither can be blamed for the slightly under-energized performance, especially as the low wattage applied to the entire show.
Terra MacLeod plays Velma Kelly, the third lead character. Her performance is a rarity in musicals. She seems to approach the role more as an actress than as a singer and dancer. Like Givens, MacLeod's character work as the worldly, thoroughly jaded Velma is the best part of her performance.
And while I would never discourage musical actors from devoting some of their energies to the acting part of their performances, it is problematical when your two lead actresses are serviceable but unspectacular singers and only fair-to-middling dancers. During protracted numbers it becomes apparent how simplistic the choreography is, and how tentatively Givens and MacLeod execute it.
This causes a pacing problem that trickles down throughout the cast.
Carol Woods, as "Mama" Morton; and Kevin Carolan, as Roxie's milquetoast husband, Amos, have roles that are each in their own ways capable of being show-stopping comedic turns. Just as with the female leads, they do everything right, but they just don't project that charismatic quality that separates the competent from the magical.
They are consistent with the entire cast. But this does not mean this is a bad show. There is not one performer or scene or number that can be pointed to as a weak link. By all appearances there is nothing wrong with this production that keeping an espresso machine backstage couldn't cure.
If you've never seen a big-time "Chicago," or you are a real fan of the show, you will not be disappointed. Just don't expect the theatrical experience of a lifetime.
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