[Music] Broadway Balances America
brought to you by Broadway Across America,
bringing the best of Broadway to a city near
you.
Okay it's time now for Broadway Balances
America, now this is our series that
takes you behind the scenes of some of
the most beloved Broadway musicals as
they appear across the country in your
local theaters and today we've got
Chicago.
Oh my gosh, it's a true New York
City institution-- Chicago has everything
that makes Broadway great Okay let's start; a universal
tale of fame, fortune, and all that
jazz, songs great songs, amazing dancing,
and for one night, one night only-- how
jealous are you.
I'm so jealous Me too-- Amber Milt gets to razzle
dazzle.
All right take it away Amber.
Ladies and
gentlemen you're about to see a story of
murder, greed, corruption, violence,
exploitation, adultery, and treachery, all
those things we hold near and dear to
our hearts.
And so it begins the longest
running American Broadway musical.
[Music] For 21 years the award-winning
show has been razzle-dazzling
theater-goers both here and abroad, from the
creative team, to its leading ladies, this is
one production that definitely has
legs.
Fran and Barry Weissler are the show
producers.
You both have such an illustrious career
and are really Broadway royalty.
Focusing on Chicago which yes, you are
Broadway royalty.
The king and queen.
Yes, the kind and queen.
What do you think it is
that's so magical about the show?
We felt that the audience was ready
for something performance driven, so
this is about the actors and so the set
is on stage the orchestra is on stage
and it features the actors, and it's
their show and we thought it was time for
that, for that to happen.
Well I, I think it's
timeless material.
The subject matter is
universal the, the, the conflict between
men and women-- Our shows are about people who
are beautiful enough and rich enough
to get away with murder.
At the heart of the
show, set in the razzle-dazzle of the
roaring 1920s are two rival vaudevillian
murderesses, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly,
who are locked up in Cook County Jail.
Over the last two decades they've been
played by the best of the best.
Are these your shoes?
No, these they gave me
downstairs I met Kevin downstairs who was so uh Do you
get to keep them?
I mean they might have to pry them off of me
So Charolotte, you've been with the show 20
years-- on and off, touring, what do you
think it is about Chicago that, that
people find so magical?
One reason is
because of people coming in and out and
different celebrities and different
people, it's always fresh and also it's
just timeless-- it's about the media and
being successful and being famous and
that's all that seems to be what people
care about, it's being successful by
being famous and, and beating the system.
It was Bob Fosse,
Kander, and Ebb, and we had an incredible
first cast but I think it's universal,
I think it's visual, I think it's the
music, it's exciting to watch, it's got
danger, it's got sexy, it's got all those
things and so we end up really crossing
all the cultural boundaries.
So this is
my view.
This is unbelievable.
I know right?
With one great showstopper after the
next, John Kander and Fred Ebb's now
classic score, keeps the story moving at
a razzle-dazzle pace.
So Tom it's 21
years now that this shows been on
Broadway.
Like 21 years today.
I know can you believe they're
letting me on.
Don't worry, we'll take care of you, don't
worry.
And take care of me they did.
Okay so we've got two
weeks to go until Chicago, so I'm headed
to the gym now.
I've be going enough but I
thought you guys might want to see what
I'm doing to get ready, check this out.
Have you seen those ladies in their
William Ivey Long design costumes, or lack thereof?
Sexy indeed, with their fishnets and bowler hats, a tribute to
the original Bob Fosse choreography.
Okay everybody so it's show day, it
is finally here!
I've got so much to do, I've gotta get in
hair fittings, I've got to go get into
costume fittings, what little there is of
them, and then I've got to rehearse
because they've sent me some lines to
practice but I haven't done any rehearsal yet and we are
literally hours away from the show so I gotta
go [Music]
Take the hat, and you can come to
remember the 10 and the gold, which
naturally you did.
If you're farther up or
down right, don't worry about it this is,
this is the alignment that we were
looking for.
Since this is in your right
hand take your left hand put it on the
other end of it-- Boom.
Boom.
Yes.
All those things we hold
near and dear All those things we hold near and dear to our
hearts Yep.
So they just put me through my
paces for learning a little bit of
choreography How am I doing?
Um you
should be in the show.
Oh, I mean well
tonight I'm going to be.
I mean right, right, right.
[Music] Mr. Billy Flynn.
Crossover.
If I fall into you, ,hi how you
doin', we're just gonna keep going with
it.
The show must go on!
Give ,em the old
razzle-dazzle boom.
Razzle-dazzle ,em.
Then we'll go back
step, step, nice little back bump, the Fosse back
bump.
[Music] Give ,em an act with lots of
flash in it and the reaction will be
passionate.
Right here is gonna be a lady.
Oh.
So you're
gonna be going up stage of her.
Got it-- thank you.
She's gonna be upside down in a split.
Okay no bigs.
Do you have any advice, I'm
going on tonight my first performance,
and it's really close now I think we're
like just hours, hours away from this do you
have any advice?
Just stay in the moment
and have a good time that's what I would
say and let people lead you, you know
what I mean like if you get lost or
anything they're gonna be people they're
helping you.
It's really emotional
actually to be doing this-- I haven't been
on stage in years and TV is different so I'm feeling really
blessed today just a dream come true.
[Music] What goes over this?
Where's the rest of
the costume?
Ladies and gentlemen presenting the
silver tongue prince of the courtroom
the one, the only, Mr. Billy Flynn.
So can you tell people about Billy
Flynn, what's his character like.
Billy Flynn
you know what's the phrase I could use,
morally challenged?
No I wouldn't even
say that, you know he's a really good
lawyer and brings with him all of the
character flaws and assets that come
with being a really, really good lawyer
and winning the case is what it's all
about and he has the sort of
self-awareness and self-knowledge that it's all
a show, life is a show, so make it a
good one.
It's all a circus kid, a three-ring
circus, these trials, the whole world,
it's all show business.
Kid you are
working with a star!
Give ,em the old
razzle-dazzle, razzle-dazzle ,em [music]
[Music] Give ,em an act with lots of flash in it and the
reaction will be passionate.
More relevant today than when it was
first written, the press and audiences
everywhere have given the show many
well-deserved ovations.
We're ahead of
our time because this is a show where
women become empowered and when they
become angry with the situation between
the males and females in their world
they they kill him they do him in.
They do in the bad guys, there's no trial,they're on
trial but the other fellow is gone.
It's Broadway in
every way it has dancing, it has singing
and it's all incorporated beautifully
into storytelling.
You get to see
brilliant actors performing brilliant
material and you get a great story along
with it that is just not told and sort
of the dangerous fun tale and I think
that that's just universally exciting.
[Music] Could I have one last picture
please.
Whoa it is, it's a lot of work-- They
make it look so easy but this is not
easy but I do feel like I am in the best
hands tonight everybody Mikey, he
literally has my back, Malin has just been
amazing, Charlotte, Tom, everybody has
been so welcoming.
It was more.
Everything and then some, thank you all.
Thank you guys.
The North American tour of Chicago is coming soon to a
theater near you.
Check out Broadway Across America,
Broadway Balances America, or you can
always go to our website thebalancingact.com for all the
show information, tour dates and more
[Music]