Painting the town

Published: Friday, May 1, 1998

Friday, May 1, 1998

Painting the town

THEATER: Bob Fosse proteges, theater veterans and some new faces go back to the vaudeville tradition, rendering the 'Chicago' musical production a sleek, contemporary look

By Cheryl Klein

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Long-limbed dancers slink on stage, clad seductively but simply. The music begins, a suggestive oom-pah that aligns perfectly with the roll of a shoulder, a thumb and forefinger stroking the brim of a bowler hat.

All this jazz describes any one of the production numbers in "Chicago," in previews at the Ahmanson Theatre, with a gala opening Wednesday. But, curiously enough, it also describes the newest Victoria's Secret commercial.

The similarity has not escaped Ron Orbach, who plays Amos, the infamous Roxie Hart's forgotten man in the revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb's "Chicago." Flipping to E! in his Scottsdale, AZ, hotel room, he exclaims, "Oh my God! Here's (choreographer) Ann Reinking on E! entertainment. They're doing sort of a 'Chicago' thing with all these supermodels. Oh, it's fascinating."

It's all very Bob Fosse, Fosse being the original choreographer, director and co-author of the musical. It's his style - sensual but classy; dark and detailed - that permeates such musicals as "Sweet Charity," and, on screen, "Cabaret" and the surreal "All That Jazz." Apparently it also sells English Lace lingerie, an interesting ode given that when "Chicago" first took the stage over two decades ago, few were buying it.

The show's rather macabre storyline may explain some of the initially lukewarm reception. Set against a jazz age backdrop of speakeasies and hair triggers, the musical centers around the murder trials of two women, the bold Velma Kelly (Jasmine Guy, whom most will remember as the bold Whitley on "A Different World"), and the flighty but manipulative Roxie Hart (Charlotte d'Amboise). As the courtroom drama unfolds in vaudevillian metaphor, all involved discover the power of money and a lawyer who sings in the same key as the jury.

Phrases like "They let ya get away with murder / Razzle dazzle 'em / And you got a romance" fall eerily in sync with many of the televised trials that have glitz-ified the news in recent years. In 1975, however, it all seemed a little strange.

"Bob Fosse was 20 years ahead of his time," Orbach says. "Now we live in a tabloid world ... From O.J. to the Menendez brothers to Princess Diana - all the media hype and manipulation of the criminal justice system (is) sort of commonplace now. In the '70s, these things were seen as something surreal."

As Hunyak, a Hungarian woman accused of murder, Cheryl Clark plays the flip side - an innocent who she hints slips through the cracks due to her poverty and naivete. As a paralegal and a single mother, Clark can relate to the "Cell Block Tango," a humorous but revealing song in which the "merry murderess" insists, "He had it comin.'"

"If the DA's office does finally nail a dad for non-payment (of child support), he had it comin,'" Clark says. "If this number is done correctly, people are gonna say, 'Yeah, he had it comin.' It's a very strong number. It's tremendously powerful."

Thus far, "Chicago" has exuded its power on stages around the country, its six 1997 Tony Awards perhaps making up for an initial snub 22 years ago. At the time, Fosse was recovering from a heart attack, and the cast found themselves somewhat orphaned in terms of direction; 1975 was also the year of "A Chorus Line," Michael Bennet's equally racy, courageous musical whose more upbeat tone may have explained its Tony sweep.

"'A Chorus Line' of course was monster hit, and it was a feel-good musical while 'Chicago' was sort of a nasty little sinister piece that people didn't really get," Orbach says.

Now, however, it gets a second chance (and a third - see sidebar). Though Kander has streamlined much of the script and director Walter Bobbie has taken a minimalist approach in terms of costumes and scene changes, much of what distinguishes the revival is its almost cosmic link with the original production.

Both Clark, who would eventually have a long-running stint as Cassie in "A Chorus Line," and Reinking started out on Broadway as "Fosse girls," the choreographer selecting them from among thousands who auditioned.

"(Fosse) molded us," Clark says. "Once you have trained with him, you can never lose it ... He knew that one finger could read to the back row of an audience. (But) underneath all the choreography - and Annie stresses this also - it's acting."

Though Clark sees the experience as a sort of coming-full-circle, she also admits feeling a little, well, mature compared to some of the newcomers.

"I said to John Kander, the composer, 'Well, Johnny, I must be the only original member,'" she recalls. "And he said, 'Cheryl, what about me?' And I said, 'Yeah, but you're not wearing tights.'"

Actually, the ensemble includes more seasoned performers than those who typically occupy bustiers and painted-on pants.

"This particular group of dancers is a little older, a little more mature, so consequently I think there is a strength to them that I think comes through," Orbach says. "It's nice for me because I feel like I have at least a few contemporaries ... But they went after older people because they just have more depth. You know how a person's wrinkles sometimes reveal a map of their journey in life? And given a show like this, that has so much irony and hidden messages and stuff, it really helps to have people like that, who have a greater sense of history."

As the meek Amos, who dubs himself "Mr. Cellophane" in allusion to his invisible status, Orbach looked to "Chicago"'s past - both Barney Martin's original Amos and the diminutive Joel Grey, who revived the role in New York last year.

"(Barney Martin, who now plays Seinfeld's father) was more physically my type. He's a big guy," Orbach says. "When you're barely over 5 feet, you are practically invisible, so there's not a lot you can do. But when you're a guy who's over 6 feet and somewhat robust, it makes it even more sad and pathetic that he finds himself not being seen and heard," Orbach observes, adding that he tries to play Amos as one of the few sympathetic characters in the show.

Experience aside, the tour got off to something of a rocky start when lead d'Amboise came down with a throat infection at the same time Guy joined the company. But, as Orbach chuckles, "not anything that isn't par for the course for we showbiz types."

Now the windy city is prepared to storm though the city of angels, with its "slow motion tension," as Clark calls it. Its trimmed down, tightened-up style; its shady ladies; its swinging mystery; its vaudeville pizzazz. And all that jazz.

THEATER: "Chicago" opens Wednesday and is currently in previews at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave. Tickets range from $22.50 to $70. Call (213) 628-2772.

Ahmanson Theatre

Ron Orbach plays the overlooked Amos Hart in "Chicago."