STAGE REVIEW
DHT takes on 'Chicago' and wins

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Theater Critic

•	'Chicago' 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 20 Diamond Head Theatre $40-$10 733-0274

The John Kander and Fred Ebb season-opener for Diamond Head Theatre has all the dark, brittle, edginess of DHT's "Cabaret" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman." But "Chicago" also has Bob Fosse's precise choreography and his help to give the book a satirically comic point of view.

It's a solid success for DHT, with a confident, in-your-face attitude, polished look, and competent song and dance numbers.

The DHT production, directed and choreographed by Andrew Sakaguchi, follows the presentational style of the show's 1997 Broadway revival and the touring company that played at Blaisdell Center two seasons ago. The orchestra is center stage, and the action unfolds around it in staged numbers and concert-style solos.

The show is loosely based on a 1926 play by journalist Maurine Dallas Watkins, who captured the tempo of the city's gangster era and the tabloid sensationalism that turned crime scenes into pulp journalism.

The central figures in "Chicago" are Roxie Hart (Tricia Marciel) and Velma Kelly (Katie Leiva), in prison for murder and scheming with a slick lawyer (Douglas Scheer) to beat the rap and turn their sudden celebrity into show-business profit.

As a chorus of women prisoners proclaims their innocence, "Cell Block Tango" neatly captures the popular line of defense for accused husband-killers: "He had it comin'."

"I fired two warning shots — into his head."

"He ran into my knife. He ran into it 10 times."

The show starts strong and plays well, although the book tends to fizzle at the end of the second act. And although the final number sparkles, it's a bit of a dramatic anti-climax.

But with the cast in various degrees of undress, the production pumps plenty of adrenaline into its sexy, show-stopping numbers "All That Jazz," "Razzle Dazzle" and "Class." The women appear mostly in lingerie, and half the male chorus is stripped to the waist. Acts of comically graphic infidelity are pantomimed with naughty exuberance.

Individual performances are appropriately one-dimensional. These characters don't want to learn about themselves, nor do we want them to. We all just want to have a good time.

Marciel creates Roxie as a bubble-headed blonde with a crafty streak, bright enough to come up with a quick excuse, but not smart enough to know where it will lead. Leiva's steely-eyed Velma has better perspective, but is a half-step too slow in taking action. Both address the parts with great confidence and poise.

Scheer's performance as the women's mouthpiece attorney is a nice blend of crass exploitation and smooth song and dance.

Jaime Bender is intriguing as the cigar-chomping prison matron ("When You're Good to Mamma"); and Larry Bialock wrings plenty of audience empathy from his role as Roxie's unnoticed husband ("Mister Cellophane").

The chorus does excellent work in backing up the action and turning their group numbers into small gems of precise choreography. Musical director Mary Chesnut Hicks gets good sound from her six musicians, but given the staging, we'd like the fuller sound and impressive presence that would come from a full orchestra. Karen Wolfe's costumes are sassy, and Steven Clear's set design features mostly prison bars and curtains of tinsel.

"Chicago" plays well for Diamond Head Theatre, but leave the little kids at home.