A Spectacular Chicago

Chicago
Kander, Ebb and Fosse
San Jose Stage Company
February 8, 2020

Allison F. Rich as Velma Kelly. Photos by Dave Lepori.

It's hard to overstate the perfection that is Stage's production of Chicago. Over the past decade, the company has developed an affinity for gritty musicals, and this one, its roots going all the way back to Maurine Dallas Watkins' 1927 play, is one of the grittiest. You won't be just entertained by this show, you'll be mesmerized.

Chicago's peculiar lingua franca - a roaring twenties jazz crime musical performed largely in underwear - is established right away when Allison F. Rich makes her usual stunning entrance and leads the ensemble into "All That Jazz," featuring the tight formation/small gesture dancing that is Bob Fosse's signature. There's plenty more to come; choreographer Tracy Freeman Shaw has drilled her dancers into one captivating image after another. Perhaps the company's greatest asset is a corps of backing performers that you can track from one show to the next, and there is always some fascinating gesture of physical touch going on in the tableau of a scene. I also noticed Rich's singing in this scene, which was smooth and understated, a luxury afforded by the audio and the Stage's 200-seat confines.

Keith Pinto as Billy Fynn, dancers Matthew Kropschot and Monica Moe.

The second-tier performers, too, provide a number of delightful surprises. Non-binary performer Branden Noel Thomas gives Mama Morton a commanding, saucy presence and rich vocals. As the pushover crime reporter Mary Sunshine, Kyle Bielfield takes his countertenor to soprano heights in "A Little Bit of Good," showing a level of vocal control that any female soprano would envy. Playing the schmendrick husband, Amos, Sean Doughty draws "aws" of sympathy, but also displays a fascinating dexterity in "Mister Cellophane," transforming himself into a hobo clown as he sings.

Rich's performance as Velma Kelly brings forth an unexpected vulnerability, especially in "I Can't Do It Alone." Demonstrating the sister act created with her now sadly deceased/killed by her sibling, she seems genuinely desperate. As she should be.

Monique Hafen Adams as Roxie Hart.

Conversely, Roxie Hart is unexpectedly strong, largely because Monique Hafen Adams is just a package of onstage dynamite. It's hard to even pinpoint a particularly top moment, it's just the feeling that when she's on the stage, there will be dazzlement. The number "Me and My Baby" - in which Roxie celebrates her fictional fetus - is a particular joy.

Keith Pinto's Billy Flynn is the James Bond of the Illinois Bar. He absolutely takes over the show, and all that smooth swagger is great fun to watch. The ventriloquist act of "We Both Reached for the Gun" is its usual treat (Roxie acting the dummy as Billy supplies her testimony), and in "Razzle Dazzle" he unlooses some captivating dance moves.

Branden Noel Thomas as Mama.

Benjamin Belew's band is swingin', and it's fun to see the yard sale of instruments in front of the reed players. Costume designer Ashley Garlick provided the women with a nice variety of see-through garments, helping to give each of them a different visual personality. The ensemble strength also showed itself in a fiery performance of "The Cell Block Tango." Playing the hapless Fred Casely, Matthew Kropschot continued to provide physical humor that goes beyond the muscles. A similar case is Zoey Lytle, whose balletic, willowy physique actually adds to the sympathy for her character, Hunyak. The lighting design by Michael Palumbo is spot-on (or, in the case of "Mister Cellophane," spot-off).

Director Randall King and his troupe have crafted a phenomenal show. It wouldn't kill ya to see it.

Through March 15, The Stage, 490 S. First Street, San Jose. thestage.org, 408/283-7142.

Michael J. Vaughn is the author of 22 novels, including the opera novel Operaville, available at Amazon.

Zoey Lytle, Jacqueline Neeley and Monica Moe.

Sean Doughty as Amos Hart.