On Saturday night, Berta and I went to Wilmington to see Chicago performed on stage at the DuPont hotel using tickets that Mom got Berta for Christmas. I had never seen Chicago before, either on stage or on screen, so this was a new experience for me.
The DuPont is an interesting venue. It’s a hotel in downtown Wilmington with a stage theater inside. There are mezzanine and balcony levels. It’s a tiny little auditorium with tiny seats. I sat with my knees pressed against the chair in front of me and couldn’t move my legs through most of the show. After a while, my hip was in quite a bit of pain, similar to when I drive long distance. No permanent damage done, but still not quite as comfortable as one might like for sitting to enjoy a show.
The musical Chicago is primarily about an exotic dancer in the 1920’s who murders her lover and is eventually - through a series of publicity stunts that woo the public - set free by the court, thanks to her lawyer.
The performances were very good. There were a few moments where things seemed to go unexpectedly, but everyone did well with their characters, they were all excellent dancers, and the singing was pretty good.
The stage, though. As it turns out from talking to Mom, there is supposed to be scenery. In this production, there was no scenery. There was just a set of bleacher-like seats for the band, which contained a set of stairs. At the top of the stairs was an exit to backstage. Apart from that, nothing. There was a bar of bright lights during the courtroom scene, and a golden curtain during the closing number, and some chairs. And that’s it.
Casting was a bit weird. As I told Berta, the actress playing Roxy (the girl primarily on trial for killing her lover) was a bit on the robust side for someone who is supposed to be working in a club as an exotic dancer. The actress who played Velma (a girl also on trial for killing her husband and his mistress, her sister) was made up very shockingly. She seemed too gaunt, and looked kind of evil as a result.
Chicago, the musical itself, wasn’t much to my liking. This is unfortunate because you would think I would like a show where most of the characters are running around in lingerie-like outfits. (No, there were also no costume changes during the show at all. Unless you count shoes.) My primary reason for not enjoying Chicago as much as I could would have to be the music.
If I’m going to watch a musical, I expect the music to further the plot at every opportunity. There were far too many superfluous songs in Chicago. The “Mr. Cellophane” song is one of the few things that made Amos Hart (Roxy’s husband) a worthwhile character, and is one of the major songs that I could have done without. Maybe I’m being too critical on this point, but there are other musicals with much better music. It’s a musical after all, the music should be good. And for that reason, I’m not crazy about Chicago.
Don’t let me be too negative. This is not something I get to do all the time, and I would certainly rather get out to see a musical of this caliber than stay home. It seemed an earnest production of a popular musical.
After the show, we retreated to Deep Blue to keep our dinner reservations. The food was very good. We shared calimari for an appetizer, which was properly cooked - not rubbery. Berta had crab cakes and I had pan-seared Ahi tuna. For dessert, the made-in-house black currant ice cream was quite tasty.
We’re scheduled to return to the DuPont on April 8th for a performance of the musical Wicked. I’m looking forward to it.
