It seems like every time you turn around in Calgary, a theatre company is staging a Broadway musical. Calgary really is becoming the place to be in order to relive hits of the Great White Way. The trend continues into 2007 as the year kicks off with the Front Row Centre Player’s production of Chicago, running from January 12th to 27th at the Pumphouse Theatre.

Set in the 1920’s Jazz era, Chicago is the story of Velma Kelly, a vaudeville performer who comes home to her sister and other half of the act, doing a whole different kind of performance with her husband. In prison and accused of the double-murder, Kelly meets chorus girl Roxie Hart, a nobody who only dreamed of stardom until she murdered Fred Casey. Both are represented by showman defense lawyer Billy Flynn.

The rest of the story unfolds with showstopping numbers and a series of twists and turns that reveal how intertwined the lives of all of the characters are. The musical was first produced in 1975 and is based on a play of the same name written by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins wrote the play based on the real life 1924 trial she had been assigned to cover - the case of murderesses Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner - for the Chicago Tribune. The musical was revived in Broadway in 1996 and continues its run today.

In 2002, a film version of the movie was released starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Rene Zellweger and Richard Gere. The film had thirteen Academy Awards nominations and won six, including best picture.

The Front Row Centre Players is a charitable, volunteer run theatre group now in its 16th season. Their goal is to make the experience of musical theatre accessible to as many people as possible - affording an outlet for creative expression on stage and behind the scenes. Their past seasons have included successful runs of shows such as Oklahoma, The Rocky Horror Show, The Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls and many more.

Chicago is one of the most loved musicals of all time. The title characters are smartly written and are some of the most memorable on Broadway. The shows hits like All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango, When You’re Good To Mama and Razzle Dazzle are classics that were brought back into our collective conscience by the film. I’d recommend you get your tickets early as this show is sure to sell out.

And if you don’t make it to the show, well, you’ll only have yourself to blame.

Front Row Centre Players present

Chicago

January 12th – 27th, 2007

Pumphouse Theatre

Tickets: (403) 263-0079

www.frontrowcentre.ca