Wednesday, December 18, 2013
AND ALL THAT JAZZ: In what may be a first, Bebe Neuwirth is returning to the Broadway revival of Chicago, for which she won a Tony as Velma in 1996 and played Roxie in 2007--this time as Mama Morton. Pretty sure this marks the first time a single actress has played all the major female roles in a show on Broadway (and certainly in the same production).
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Laurie Beechman did it in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. (I'm sure there are other similar edge case examples.)
ReplyDeleteI went back to see Chicago when Bebe played Roxie, just because of my love for Bebe. I was really disappointed - the edge of the production just seemed dulled after ten years of running. Can't imagine it will be any different now 15 years later.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'll have to go see this, for old times' sake. I was 16 when I saw her as Velma, the second Broadway show I ever saw, and Bebe as Velma was EVERYTHING. One of my oldest friends, who saw it with me that first time, was her understudy when I saw her as Roxie. Exactly half a lifetime after the first time seems like a good time to go back for more.
ReplyDeleteThe problem as I observed it at that time (and I haven't seen it since, so for all I know they've gotten it together in the six years since) was the precision in the dancing. That style of dance is nothing without precision, and the show is nothing without that style of dance.
ReplyDeleteAnother unusual thing is that this production has played in three different houses, and Neuwirth will have appeared in all of them. It strikes me that it's the kind of show that could benefit from what Les Mis did late in its run (and Mamma Mia! recently did)--closing for 3-4 months and coming back with a completely refreshed cast, deep cleaned sets, etc.
ReplyDeleteYep. Saw it twice the year it opened, and once when Bebe was back. I thought they'd also dumbed down some of the tricks/wit of the show for a tourist audience.
ReplyDeleteShe was a phenomenal Velma - I went back to see it three times with her in it. Amazing. (Marilu Henner as Roxie, not so much.)
ReplyDeleteIs it about time for Bebe to do an obligatory revival of Gypsy?
ReplyDeleteI don't even remember who I saw as Roxie that first time. I know it was well after Ann Reinking (my choir director was a bit snobbish about seeing something that wasn't original cast but it was all about Bebe anyway). I feel like I would remember if it was Marilu Henner (because I adore Taxi, and did even as a 16-year-old in 1998).
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