When Melody Lane Theatre selected “Chicago” for its summer stock show, Sami Doherty knew the theater couldn’t afford the rights to Bob Fosse’s original choreography. So, she and Assistant Choreographer Athena Rose Belis did the next best thing. They created original choreography that would make Bob Fosse proud.
The result is a splendiferous show guaranteed to razzle dazzle Southwest Florida audiences.
“We love the whole Fosse style of it and we definitely were wanting to heavily lean into that stylistic side of things and also the iconic parts of ‘Chicago,’” Belis said. “Finding ways to keep the originality of it but also add our little spin.”
Georgia Rainero plays Roxie Hart. Here’s her take on the essence of Fosse’s distinctive dance vocabulary.
“It’s really restrictive,” Rainero said. “Even though it seems like it’s flowy, you really have to keep everything perfectly in line so it looks like how Bob Fosse intended it to be. So, I mean, I don’t think that people realize that he’s very dialed back.”
That’s on full display in the show’s subversively seductive opening number, "All That Jazz.”
“A lot of what Fosse highlights is small, sharp movements,” said Belis. “So you'll see in the opening of ‘All That Jazz,' there's a moment where they have their finger up and the only thing that moves is this finger. So, I like to tell the kids like there's a spotlight on that one body part or that one movement.”
Doherty and Belis embrace Fosse’ movement aesthetic — which flies in the face of the elongated lines and outward rotation of classical ballet.
“Another thing that Sami likes to implement too is this kind of brokenness that he likes to create with lines,” Belis explained. “So instead of just standing up straight, he'll have like one side bent. So that's, that's kind of a general gist of it. But he is so iconic.”
But Doherty and Belis are not mere mimics. They put their own unique spin on every number.
Their rendition of “All That Jazz” is a showstopper, combining the decadence of “Cabaret” with the polish of “A Chorus Line.” Yovanna Ignjatic, who plays Velma Kelly, puts it like this.
“I feel like it's still very true to Fosse, but just maybe a little bit less, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, boom, boom — like a little more just like, focus, like a little more, definitely a little more polished to what I do,” she said.
Ignjatic commands the spotlight in “Cell Block Tango,” a number in which the Cook County Jail’s Merry Murderesses explain just why their victims had it coming. But dig deeper, says Ignjatic, and the number reveals that rather than being special, Velma is no different than the other girls.
“She's just like everyone else here,” Ignjatic observed. “She did something. She's the highlight of the song because she's a lead, but I think that, I think it just highlights the ruthlessness of her and the, the no remorse, which are key parts of who she is. For her entire life is that I don't care if you like me or not, no remorse.”
One number in particular illustrates the originality that Doherty, Belis and Director Amber Angeloro have brought to the show. That’s “We Both Reached for the Gun.”
In the number, Billy Flynn is typically portrayed as a ventriloquist with Roxie, appearing as dummy, sitting in his lap.”
“We wanted to spin it more like a marionette doll,” said Belis. “That was really fun being able to kind of just take, do a whole different take on that number than what you would normally see in a local production or on Broadway.”
“So, he’s controlling me with like those sticks and string,” added Rainero. “So, you’ll definitely see that. You can see that Roxie is being controlled through Billy Flynn.”
In a show filled with numerous showstoppers, “Honey Hot Rag” is a stand-out moment emblematic of the musical’s energy and flair.
The Roxie-Velma duet is definitely Georgia Rainero’s and Yovanna Ignjatic’s favorite number.
“She’s really letting go and having fun,” said Rainero. “It almost feels like something that they would perform if they were both together in a performance.”
“We’re working together. Do I like her? Heck no, no, we don't like each other, but there is a mutual respect,” Ignjatic added. “And I feel like honestly, because me and Georgia are close, there is maybe a little bit of some sort of like trust, which is kind of crazy because they're both so untrustworthy. But I think they know that it's more of like a respect for ‘I see what you did. I, I respect it. I hated you for it, but I love it because now look, we're so successful and we're working. And the irony at the end being like, America's failed and we are just living examples of why it's great.”
Historically, the emcee in “Chicago” is heard but never seen.
“And now Miss Roxie Hart and Miss Velma Kelly sing a song of unrelenting determination and unmitigated ego.”
In Melody Lane’s version of the musical, the emcee is a glamorous onstage character comically played by Faith Farnsworth.
The emcee … is kind of a washed-up version of Velma and what Roxie eventually could be,” Belis explained. “She is just a showgirl that can't that can't outlive it, you know. She ages year after year after year.”
Melody Lane’s variation of “Chicago” is smart, bold, original and well-acted, well-sung and well-danced.
It’s at the Alliance for the Arts tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m.; Saturday, at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday at 2 p.m.
MORE INFORMATION:
Melody Lane is hosting a “to die for” ‘20s-themed party before the Saturday night performance. It’s from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to dress in their 1920s glamour outfits and enjoy appetizers and desserts, photo ops, and more.
The cast
Roxie Hart - Georgia Rainero
Velma Kelly - Yovanna Ignjatic
Master Of Ceremonies - Faith Farnsworth
Billy Flynn - Connor Jackson
Amos Hart - Constantine Belis
Mama Morton - Gianna Quick
Liz - Carlene Lockwood
Annie - Ashlynn Richardson
June - Emma Ramirez
Mona - Tatiana Robinson
Katalin - Reese Rainero
Mary Sunshine - Brianna Gaeta
Sergeant Fogarty/Judge - Chase Lawton
Fred Casely/Harrison - Jonathan Cernuska
Kitty - Chelsey Smith
Ensemble: Emma Arellano, Zoe Belis, Skylar Gaeta, Ashley Garcia, Eve Leffel, Melinda Martinez, Sarah Moore, Victor Mcjury, Audrey Pearce, Antonio Domench, Ainhoa Louis
The creative team
Director: Amber Angeloro
Music Director: Loren Strickland
Choreographer: Sami Doherty
Assistant Choreographer: Athena Rose Belis
Producer: Dana Alvarez
Bob Fosse’s legacy
“Chicago” originally debuted in 1975 with Bob Fosse directing and choreographing the musical. The story is based on a play written about the trials of two women accused of murder in 1924, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, and their ensuing celebrity.
Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb modeled each of the musical’s numbers after a traditional vaudeville routine or performer. Eschewing the ostentatious sets and costumes customary at the time, Fosse opted for minimalistic sets and costumes in order to keep the focus on the movement, the music and the story. There are no projections, no set changes, just storytelling, choreography and chemistry.
The musical has a two-year run, closing in 1977.
It returned to Broadway in 1996, with Ann Reinking re-creating Bob Fosse's choreography for a short-run Encores! production at New York City Center. The revival, at the Ambassador Theatre, is now the longest-running show currently on Broadway, and second in history to only “The Phantom of the Opera.” The production is still running, still packing in audiences, still relying on a bare stage, a band, a few chairs, and a whole lot of attitude.
The revival keeps Fosse’s legacy alive and introduces his distinctive movement vocabulary to new generations. With its sly head tilts, specific hand gestures, turned-in feet, and pinpoint isolations, Fosse’s style of dance is instantly recognizable. Not only is it frequently emulated on Broadway and beyond, it places Fosse on the Mount Rushmore of Broadway choreographers — along with Tommy Tune and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Why it endures
There are many reasons “Chicago” endures. It’s the characters’ satire and cynicism. It’s the songs, which are a Broadway pastiche within a 1920s vaudeville frame. They were hilarious and presentational. It’s the show’s implicit indictment of a legal system that lauds performance over justice, America’s intractable fascination with sensationalism, the media’s penchant for spin and the way women are regarded as disposable unless they are marketable.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
