Chicago (Ambassador Theatre)

By Ben Charles

5 POINTS OR LESS
a Broadway classic • incredible dancing • brilliant songs • outstanding showmanship • Fosse, yes, Bob Fosse.

BOTTOM LINE: Fun music, killer dancing and a great time. If you haven’t seen Chicago you need to. It’s really that simple.

As I write this a few days after seeing Chicago for the first time, all I can say is wow, what a show. It’s brilliant. There is a reason soooo many people love this musical. It has a smart story, memorable songs, a great live orchestra, very creative choreography and world class dancing.

For starters, this is a Bob Fosse show. The legendary choreographer's signature style is extremely cool and even a little badass. (Read Fosse's bio here.) It takes impressive talent and skill to pull of his choreography and when it works it’s awesome, especially on a grand Broadway stage. The cast I saw was a collection of veteran performers who owned the stage and knew how to put on a great show. This musical is still worth seeing live on stage, even if you’ve seen the 2002 film (starring Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones).

The original Broadway production of Chicago ran from 1975-1977; this current production is the first revival and has been playing since 1996. With so many new musicals out there it could easily be passed over or taken for granted because it’s been running for so long. But Chicago presents music and dancing without anything that is overdone or hyper-produced. It’s the talent and skill of the artists that carry this show and each song and dance number is fantastic. It’s hard to believe how much quality each number possesses. You’ll recognize the songs and be singing them well after you leave the theater. The story, about showbiz, murder and society, may be hard to follow at first because there are lot of characters and no real sets, but once you get past the first few songs the plot becomes clear and it’s a nice ride through to the finale.

I can imagine that it’d be easy for this show to be passed over by New Yorkers who take it for granted or out-of-towners who fear it isn’t as fresh as many newer productions. It isn't stale by any means. As I said at the beginning, there is a reason it has been running for so long. It’s a damn good show and well worth your time and money to see. The risqué costumes and material make it a bit PG-13, but it’s still a smart choice for anyone who wants to see some live music, killer dancing, a fun story, and classic Broadway.

(Chicago plays at the Ambassador Theatre, 219 West 49th Street. Performances are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2:30pm and 8pm and Sunday at 2:30pm and 7pm. The show runs 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. Tickets are $64-$121.50 and a limited number of $31.50 rush tickets are available on the day of the performance at the box office. Visit telecharge.com for tickets. Check out chicagothemusical.com for more show info.)

13 (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre)

BOTTOM LINE: I would've really liked this musical when I was 13.

13 is one of this season's new, big-budget Broadway musicals. It's the story of 12-year-old Evan who is forced to move to small-town Indiana from Manhattan when his parents get divorced. As his Bar Mitzvah nears, he has to get the popular kids to come to his awesome party, thereby solidifying his cool-kid status through his high school years. The music and lyrics, by Jason Robert Brown (he also wrote The Last Five Years, one of my favorite scores), are energetic and sometimes funny. The book, by Dan Elish and Robert Horn, couldn't be more contrived if it were an episode of Saved by the Bell.

Luckily, the cast of 13 is quite good and all are on the track for tremendous success in adulthood. I actually spent a little too much time in my head casting them in future productions of Hairspray and Grease. And if reality is anything like my imagination, they'll grow into dynamite performers. These teenagers are well-cast; talented enough to pull off the show and awkward enough to be completely age-appropriate. They're also bursting with energy and sheer joy for the opportunity. As a result, they're fun to watch.

There are some good components to this show although ultimately, it falls flat. I laughed out loud on a number of occasions (for example, the kids attend Dan Quayle Middle School). And some of the music rocks pretty hard; the opening number, appropriately called "13/Becoming a Man", has been stuck in my head all day. Also, the band is surprisingly solid, considering they themselves are 5 teenagers. But at the end of the day, the creativity is sparse at the expense of telling a simple, obvious story with a simple, obvious resolution. It lacks the "wow" moments that make live theatre so incredibly powerful. And ultimately, that's a disservice to both the audience and the performers. The kids on stage need something deeper to play, the kids in the audience can handle a more sincere story, and the adults in the audience deserve something to grab onto.

For what it's worth, the audience around me loved this show...to the point where the father behind me was verbally acknowledging the action on stage ("ooo's" when the characters kissed and "oh no's" when a moment got confrontational). There were tweens everywhere I looked; the median age of the audience was probably around 20. And if I were 13 and seeing this show, I would've been in utter bliss. But I'm not, and I wasn't.

Which makes me wonder who this show is really for. If it's designed to pull teenagers to the theatre, make it accessible and relatable, and capture a fleeting market (usually distracted by video games, tv, and other things on screens) then it's appealing perfectly to its target. If it's also supposed to resonate with adults, reminding them of their own teenage years, it misses by a long shot. That's unfortunate because premise-wise 13 taps into a great genre.

13 is a perfect show to take your kids to. If nothing else, it has more integrity than the Disney schlock currently on Broadway and it appeals to an older kid demographic as well. I'd bet big money that kids and teens will really enjoy this show. And there are certainly some well-executed moments throughout the production; it's an entertaining 90 minutes but it's not likely to evoke much emotion in anyone over 18.

(13 plays at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 West 45th between 7th and 8th Avenues. Show times are (until Oct. 13) Tuesday through Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. After Oct. 13 show times are Tuesday through Thursday at 7pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. For tickets visit telecharge.com. Visit 13themusical.com for more show info.)