Chicago Reviews

MusicalsStars on Stage

Average customer review: 2.5 star rating (2.4 Stars)

Number of reviews: 11

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5.0 star rating Alan Packer from High Wycombe

GREAT ENTERTAINMENT!

Thoroughly enjoyed this encarnation of a classic show! For me, the female leads are all outstanding, and Cuba Gooding, Jr., while maybe not so at home in a musical, does bring a very watchable charisma to the role. It's mind-boggling that a few people would complain about the staging or costumes - it has been done just this way for decades, and allows Chicago to showcase a terrific live orchestra, something normally present but not so visible in most other theatres. Kander and Ebb are masters of musical satire and this one now seems more relevant than ever. Bravo!

5.0 star rating Lauren Greene from London,

BRILLIANT

Love this musical. Great cast... great performance from everyone. Cuba Gooding Jnr is obviously a great actor but who knew he could sing and dance as well. Even though his vocals were not as strong as the 2 female leads, he really brought Billy Flynn character to life and I liked his husky voice. The orchestra were amazing. There aren’t any stage props or designs, so the cast convey the story purely through the strength of their acting/singing.

3.0 star rating Anna from London,

MOSTLY GOOD. A FUN NIGHT OUT.

Standing up for this show after the other bad reviews here. I loved it! It’s great show with fantastic talent (with one exception). They don’t all have the charisma of the actors in the film but are all clearly talented. I loved that they hand the band on stage, they worked it well into the production and gave lovely emphasis on the musical talents as well as catchy tunes. My biggest disappointment was Cuba Gooding Jr. Clearly there to sell tickets, I didn’t expect much. He had great charisma for the acting part of the role... howeve, he was fluffing lines, his singing was hoarse, flat and felt carried by the rest of the cast in big numbers. This was a real shame as he shouldn’t get a bigger cheer than the great women who star in it and are doing more work and are way more talented! Overall it’s great fun but not the best show on the west end right niwow.

3.0 star rating Jake Wardoff from London,

MORE DEFLATING THAN OLD HELIUM

If you're after hearing your favourite Chicago tracks live in concert, then you're definitely going to enjoy Chicago at the Phoenix theatre. If you're after an iconic musical being brought back to life on-stage with the full Razzle Dazzle, then I wouldn't waste your money. Disappointed and slightly insulted with the little to no effort which has gone into this revival.

2.0 star rating David from London

A BAD PRODUCTION OF A GOOD MUSICAL

Chicago is definitely a good musical - but this is not a good version of it. The staging is really lazy - the action all takes place in a thin stripe at the front of the stage. The play as a whole felt very under-rehearsed - so many characters were dropping lines and lyrics (although most recovered well, the exception being Cuba Gooding Jr who laboured over his lines a second time drawing attention to it); the dancing and lighting were equally loose with actors missing their marks. The famous songs are as catchy as you remember them, but the singing ranges from the fine to the absolutely abysmal. Cuba Gooding Jr could not sing during our production - It sounded like he had a frog in his throat but (a) you have understudies for a reason, and (b) that can't explain all of the pitchiness that we heard. There is a lot better to see in London, and if you haven't got tickets already, I can only advise to give this show a miss

2.0 star rating Sarah from London,

DISAPPOINTING

This is a musical so why cast Cuba Gooding Jr who I'm told is a good actor, but in this circumstance could neither sing nor act to the standard required of a west end show. Roxy and Thelma sang and danced well and held the show together. However, there was no set to razzle dazzle us but thankfully a superb orchestra. I would not recommend this show. Such a shame as I saw a different production 10 years ago which was wonderful.

2.0 star rating Gigi from London,

NOTHING SHOWSTOPPING

I was disappointed to see there was no stage props or stage set at all and barely any effort had gone in to costumes in fact I don't think they even changed costumes once which is a shame perhaps the spent all their budget on getting a hollywood star. The theatre is also small cramped and very hot I felt like I could barely breathe. Orchestra were really good but then they held centre stage throughout the whole show so you couldn't not appreciate them with the cast performing on a tiny strip of stage left in front of them. Dancing ok but nothing show stopping.

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