Not So Much Jazz

The Cambridge Theatre, in the center of Seven Dials, is home to Chicago, the musical. A few weeks ago I had the chance to see it and although I was not disappointed in the production, I was not impressed. The narrative of the play lived up to the expectations I had thanks to the popular film version, but the production left me wanting more.

The first issue that bothered me was the presence of the orchestra in the middle of the stage. I understand that due to spatial issues (the theatre is quite small), there is not really anywhere else for the orchestra to be put, but I kind of wish they would have tried harder to figure this out. I must give the director credit: the play makes use of the orchestra section in the small space and it quickly becomes part of the production and the audience is able to somewhat forget about its presence. Unfortunately, the entire time I was thinking about what the production could have been if the orchestra was more hidden. Maybe it was my expectations being tainted by the elaborate depiction of the story in the film, but I was hoping for a little bit more.

My desire for more in the play also surfaced in the costumes. The cast was small and many of the actors and actresses played multiple roles. Because of this, each actor only wore one costume throughout the play. Whether he was playing a policeman or was just a dancer, one of the actors was wearing the same costume the whole time. I supposed that this did contribute to the “jazziness” of the play, but I did not think that the acting was phenomenal enough that a change of costume would be unnecessary.

Another issue I had with the play was their portrayal of Americans. Mainly, my complaint is that the lead actresses should have probably spent a few more weeks with a speech therapist in hopes of improving their American accents. I regret to inform the cast that not all American women sound like Judy Garland, especially women who are from Chicago. I understand that perfecting an American accent can prove difficult for a Brit, but the inaccurate accents just made the production a bit unrealistic.

It may seem like I did not enjoy myself through this review, but I really did. The musical arrangements were nice and I really did appreciate the production crew being as innovative as possible when working with the little space they had available. The play really made me think about the corruption that is possible within the judicial system not just in America but all over the world. While on the surface it is just a musical that gets stuck in your, but if you think about the themes that are being addressed it does seem to point out the problems with the legal system.

Jordan Silver

jordansilver@berkeley.edu