Review of Chicago at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall

From its upbeat catchy songs, sexy dances and outfits to the intense powerful story behind all the glitter and melodies, Chicago firmly holds the title of one of the best musicals of all time.

Going into Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall, I didn’t know what to expect. I had heard that Chicago was a popular musical — a story of murder, adultery, dreams and hope, but never thought I’d leave the venue wondering why I had never watched this musical before.

The plot of the story was incredible, as a woman I didn’t know if I was to feel empowered, sexy or capable of murder, but the cast deserves all the praise for bringing such an amazing plot to life and with such talent.

The story follows Roxie Hart, a 1920s housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her paramour after he threatens to walk out on her — guess in the 1920s ghosting was more of a ‘becoming a ghost’ thing.

She was taken to prison where she met a group of women who also murdered their plus-ones for several reasons, be it cheating, another family, or popping gum, and the moment the group of women started singing the Cell Block Tango I lost it. What an amazing song!

The musical is filled with great tunes that make you want to dance, fight, love, and hate but that one is my absolute favourite, I even left the concert hall singing it on my walk home.

My boyfriend who came with me to the show even asked if I was also planning on murdering him, that’s how good the song was.

Without giving too much away, although everyone seems to know the story apart from me, Roxie — played by former Strictly Come Dancing professional and TV presenter Jannette Manrara — starts dupping the public and the media.

Her rival cellmate, Vella Kelly performed by Djalenga Scott, starts seeing Roxie gain popularity across the media after hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer Billy Flynn — performed by Dan Burton — who turned her malicious crime into a heartfelt story that made its way to headlines.

The prison’s matron Mama Morton, performed by Loose Women panellist and BBC1 presenter Brenda Edwards, shocked me in a very positive way. Her singing voice was so powerful, that I felt like she could kill me with her words, she made a show of herself.

Chicago is a spinning story of highs and lows, popularity and hatred, lies and the truth, that brings a group of talented women together that all they did wrong was give the wrong men a chance and have a weapon nearby.

Across the venue, you could hear the audience booing, laughing, clapping and singing along throughout the show and that was fascinating to see, you could see the story reach wider than the stage and the people.

The show which was about two hours long went by in a matter of minutes in my mind as I spent the whole time so curious, intrigued and captivated by the continuous vibrance on stage.

Either if you have seen Chicago before or even more if you haven’t, this performance is guaranteed to leave you in a good mood and impress you, over and over again. — MT