It's difficult to see a production of "Chicago" today without bringing to mind images from last year's Academy Award-winning film adaptation. But when the production is as energetic and sexually charged as the one that came to Boston last week, the differences become irrelevant.
The production at the Wang Theater stood on its own as a stunning example of musical theater. The dancing was flashy and smooth, the singing was mostly passionate and the music was right on target. The show included everything one would expect in a musical about two attention-craving murderesses emerging from the 1920s jazz scene. These fiery characters, Roxie Hart (Bianca Marroqu?n) and Velma Kelly (Brenda Braxton), are based on two real women who were accused of murdering their husbands in 1924. Roxie, an aspiring Vaudeville performer, and Velma, already a diva in the Vaudeville scene, are both sent to jail. There, they compete for the public's attention and sympathy, each woman hoping that her own trial will inspire more headlines and create a bigger stir than her rival's trial. With the help of their cunning but shamelessly dishonest defense lawyer, Roxie and Velma develop schemes to prove their (false) innocence and emerge from the ordeal as newly crowned queens of the Vaudeville stage. Vibrant dance and song dramatize the action and the characters' fantasies each step of the way.
The play is actually a comment on the superficiality of American values and the ease with which the press and the judicial system can be manipulated through smoke and mirrors. If you put on a good show, you can get away with murder, says the play. And that's just what Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly did.

To cleverly remind the audience that this was all an act, the orchestra members were on the stage itself, sitting in a multi-level, gold-framed box above the actors. At times, actors entered the stage from underneath, rising through the center of this orchestra box. Actors also engaged the conductor - Roxie gave him a newspaper to read, for example - as a way of tying the orchestra into the plot and demonstrating that jazz and music were at the center of the characters' lives and were ultimately their moral corruption. This orchestra box constituted nearly the entire set, save a ladder on each side of the stage and a few sporadic chairs. Thus the focal point at any given time was the actors and their bawdy, mesmerizing dancing.

The actors were scantily clad in black; the men wore sheer shirts and tight pants, while the women accentuated their figures with leotards, thongs, short skirts and bras. Lines, textures and patterns crisscrossed in lingerie frenzy. The all-black ambience added a layer of alluring sophistication, as wearing all black is usually faux pas.

Though a row each of red, yellow and green lights shone from each side of the stage throughout the production, color did not take a prominent role until the second act. Just prior to Roxie's trial, during the number "Razzle Dazzle," red and purple lights illuminated the actors as glitter sprinkled down from the ceiling. This showcased the crazy, yet impressive contortions of the actors' bodies as they rhythmically layered themselves into evocative positions, drawing attention to the song's message that Roxie's trial was a spectacle more than it was a legal proceeding. In groups, they intertwined their limbs and reached through open spaces in a mass of lust. In one dance move, a row of actors lay on their stomachs, lifted themselves up on their arms and then slid down to the ground in a backwards-arching wave. In another, a man held a woman upside-down by her thighs with his face dangerously close to her "womanhood."

A row of gold lights then descended on the stage to begin Roxie's trial. This was accompanied by a large American flag that appeared devoid of color. It is interesting to note that amidst this long-awaited burst of color, the flag, a symbol of American ideals and purity, consisted only of gray tones. This implies that in "Chicago," glamour and hype overpowered all else.

A rare instance of visual contrast in the first act occurred during the song "All I Care About," featuring the womanizing defense attorney Billy Flynn (Gregory Harrison) surrounded by admiring women. The women each held two large white round feathers, which they used to fan and encircle Billy. At one point, the women surrounded Billy completely with their feathers, leaving only his head visible to the audience. He laughed pleasurably as if he was being "pleasured" underneath.

By far, the show's strongest asset was its choreography and dancing. The dancers pulled off complex moves, including lifts, leaps, kicks and turns, all in sync. Even abrupt movements flowed together with a sort of grace. The dancing was extremely erotic - hips, butts and breasts all jutted and strutted with confidence and power. In each number, the dancers flaunted their sexuality in a new in-your-face manner so that the entire show was driven by their libidos. Their movements were bold and outward, with hands and fingers pulsing away from their bodies.

In contrast, the second-to-last number, "Hot Honey Rag," which featured the original Bob Fosse choreography, was more inward in nature. Roxie and Velma bent down with each step and crossed their arms in front of them, instead of thrusting up and out as they had done earlier. This was fitting for their Vaudeville duo debut, as their steps seemed reminiscent of those performed by 1920s flappers.

Despite the spectacular dancing, the actors' talent was unbalanced. Marroquin, as Roxie, was not as innocent as one might expect, but had a bubbly schoolgirl energy. This eagerness made her convincing in her obsession with fame and the lengths she would go to attain it. While singing, she occasionally revealed her more feisty side and took on a guttural and throaty tone.

Braxton, as Velma, conveyed power in the form of sass and haughtiness, though she was not threatening at all. This was a very different interpretation than the one Catherine Zeta -Jones gave in the film, but it still worked. It did not seem that Velma would have retaliated with much oomph if Roxie had challenged her.

Harrison was disappointing as Billy Flynn. Though he was supposedly a charmer, he didn't seem to charm the cast or the audience. His singing and dancing were proficient, but his performance was flat and lacked vim and vigor.

Carol Woods played Matron "Mama" Morton, the jail-keep of the women's prison. As she belted her solo "When You're Good to Mama," her sonorous voice filled the large theater. Her spectacular vocal range became evident when she delivered a warbling finale. Unfortunately, her stage presence and her dancing fell short of the sexual potential of the song and the rest of the show. Lines like "You put in for Mama, she'll put out for you" practically beg for a striptease, but in a conservative pantsuit, Woods stood almost stationary on stage.

Despite these few shortcomings, "Chicago" was radiant. The cast was motivated and exuberant, and the dancing was sleek, sensual, and supremely satisfying. So in Roxie's words, "stay away from jazz and liquor" - unless, of course, you want to see "Chicago.