'Chicago' dazzles Sangamon

By Gabrielle Wiegand - Feature Writer

In an incredibly talented and sensual display, a Broadway touring company delighted Sangamon Auditorium audiences with “ Chicago : The Musical.”

Winner of six Tony awards and six Academy Awards, “ Chicago ” is the breathtaking story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation and adultery (so fun for the whole family). Set in the roaring 1920s, Velma Kelly is a seductive club singer who is charged with murdering her husband and sister after she finds them having an affair.

But Velma is not the only woman committing murder in the windy city, Roxie Hart is a would-be Vaudeville star who shoots her lover, Fred Casely, and allows her unwitting and boring husband, Amos, take the rap.

Sadly the assistant district attorney isn't fooled and Roxie finds herself in the Cook County jail with Velma and several other “merry murderesses.” (Goof alert: actually there are no district attorneys in Illinois , but rather state's attorneys.)

Life is going great for Velma. Her slick lawyer and spin-god Billy Flynn says he can easily get her off. In the meantime he's made Velma a media darling. Roxie is a little more clueless, planning to tell the jury the truth and hope for the best.

Velma can't bother with the new girl, but Warden Matron “Mama” Morton offers Roxie some advice and assistance (for a price, of course). She puts Roxie in contact with Billy and Amos begs and borrows the money to pay him to represent Roxie. Thanks to Billy's expert public relations skills, Roxie is the talk of the town and Velma is yesterday's news.

But at the end of the day both Roxie and Velma make it off death row and become stars with a killer double act (get it - killer!). And along the way there is a heck of a lot of great singing and dancing, and even a laugh or two.

The company that performed “ Chicago ” was, overall, very talented. Brenda Braxton who played Velma Kelly was very gifted, as was Michelle Dejean (Roxie Hart). Dejean was also particularly funny. I found the rest of the main characters unremarkable.

Billy Flynn was played by Tom Wopat. Wopat had a very smooth and silky voice but he was incapable of movement. Not only did he trip while he was walking across the stage, but there was no dancing whatsoever during his musical numbers. I did my best not to compare his performance with Richard Gere's from the film “ Chicago ” but failed. Wopat's accent was also kind of strange. I think he was trying to do a Chicago accent but he fell a little short of the mark.

Mama Morton (Carol Woods) was also a disappointment. She had a beautiful voice but absolutely no stage presence (defiantly no Queen Latifah).

The orchestra was right in the middle of the stage on a platform. I expected to find it distracting but actually I think it added certain dynamics to the show that were very welcome. The set itself was minimal as were the costumes.

The star of the show, in my mind, was the choreography of Bob Fosse. I have never seen a show in which the dance movements were so perfectly choreographed for the music. Not only did the dance and the music seem like one entity, but each of the dancers was in perfect synchronization with the other. Every movement was flawlessly timed and executed.

Overall, “ Chicago ” was a razzle-dazzle great time.

A taste of Margaritaville comes to UIS

By Gabrielle Wiegand - Feature Writer

Middle-aged people wearing Hawaiian shirts and hats with parrots, sharks and cheeseburgers on them with little plastic parrots perched on their shoulders - I was either in a Lewis Carroll novel or…Margaritaville?

Saturday, the Jimmy Buffett tribute band Parrothead dazzled Buffett diehards at the Sangamon Auditorium following a tailgating party in parking lot E. The five-member band sang about 20 Buffett classics such as “Margaritaville,” “Son of a Sailor,” “Stars on the Water” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise .”

Excited about hearing a few Jimmy Buffet tunes, I took my seat up in the first balcony, enjoying the view of mostly people my parents' age wearing grass skirts and leis. Then I heard a woman in the row behind me say very excitedly, “We are going to party like rock stars up here!”

At which point I a) realized most of the audience members had probably been drinking and b) fought the urge to turn around and make sure she knew Jimmy Buffett, himself, was not going to be there.

The high-energy show began with the lead vocalist Dave Albrecht clad in a naval uniform and sounding amazing like Jimmy Buffett. Audience members quickly got out of their seats and started dancing in the aisles. That is, until the ushers broke it up (which I couldn't help but chuckle a little at).

The audience members continued to be so rowdy, dancing at their seats, about halfway through the show the ushers organized and set aside a couple of empty rows in the back for them to go crazy in. At that point, I thought it might be an interesting experiment if we stopped the show and took everyone's blood alcohol level (just for fun).

Albrecht had several other costume changes - first he wore the naval uniform, followed by a grass skirt and then a pirate costume. However, the most disturbing ensemble was a navy blazer and a plush “Finding Nemo” sort of fish mounted onto the front of his white shorts that he continuously fondled.

For Buffett's famous song, “Volcano,” the band brought the women in the audience onto the stage to do percussion.

“See what happens when you get a group of women together?” said Albrecht. “It's like a big sewing circle up here!” That in conjunction with a few lewd gestures and his closing comment “Was it good for you girls? It was good for me. Now I need a cigarette,” had every feminist instinct in me screaming in protest and confusion.

Nevertheless, the women on stage seemed to be having a good time, as well as the man in the row behind me who kept screaming loudly “Show us your (lewd term for mammary glands)!”

And just in case you were curious, I stayed in my seat for the entire show. I was quite content to sit and listen and occasionally turn to my friend (who took one for the team and accompanied me) and shrug as if to say ‘I don't get it!'

At the end of the evening, I had to admit Parrothead did an excellent job bringing Jimmy Buffett to life for his fans and I'm sure if I was 55, drunk and wearing Hawaiian print somewhere on my person I would have loved the show. Instead, I only mildly enjoyed it while simultaneously being really, really freaked out.

Cosby, we'll miss you

By Gabrielle Wiegand - Feature Writer

When I'm sitting around with my peers, reminiscing about our childhoods there are always a few op culture universals we all remember and love. Everyone remembers “Saved by the Bell .” Everyone remembers those slap bracelets and Trapper Keepers.

And just about everyone has a fond remembrance of the Huxtable family. So when I found out actor/comedian Bill Cosby - Dr. Cliff Huxtable himself - was returning to the Sangamon Auditorium (he was here in 2002, 2000 and 1998), I was understandably excited.

Alas, like my first boyfriend, Mr. Cosby wound up disappointing me, because the first 90 percent of all good relationships is showing up. Bill Cosby's Oct. 2 performance was canceled due to poor ticket sales.

According to a State Journal-Register article from Sept. 20, David Taylor, the interim director of the auditorium, said Cosby's management pulled the shows when they saw the sluggish ticket sales. Apparently this is not the only gig Cosby has canceled. Residents of Sarasota , Fla. will also miss out on Mr. Cosby. So cheer up Springfieldians! We're not alone in our sorrow and pain!

But still, instead of enjoying the wit and witticism of Cosby, I was alone Friday night eating Jell-O while watching Nick at Nite reruns of “The Cosby Show.”

Luckily, my sorrow and Jell-O binging was short lived because another sitcom icon is returning to Springfield to make us laugh and mend my broken heart- Jerry Seinfeld! I'm going to be honest, for the longest time I just didn't “get” “Seinfeld.” Nope, just didn't get it.

It was a show about nothing. There were these people who sat around doing nothing, talking about nothing, who were neurotic and not overly nice. And suddenly, about two years ago over some TBS reruns, I realized its brilliance and the genius of Seinfeld himself.

When our lives are so full of the little, every day details who has time to ponder the big picture? So it's the little things in life that we remember and that are truly funny - losing your parked car (sadly this exact thing happened to my roommate and me last weekend), getting a bad haircut, a horrific bad date and “yada yada yada.” Jerry Seinfeld brought all those funny little things to life in his television show and on Nov. 11 he is bringing his comedic talent to Sangamon Auditorium.

And while being the spokesman for American Express credit cards doesn't bring the same level of street cred as being the spokesman of a fun gelatin-pudding snack, I'm just as happy to spend one of my Friday nights with the greatest American comic rather then the greatest American TV dad.

'Chicago' dazzles Sangamon

A taste of Margaritaville comes to UIS

Cosby, we'll miss you