Chicago The Musical in Singapore

It certainly wasn't an ordinary Thursday. That evening, I was one of the lucky few who caught Chicago during it's gala opening night. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as I was hankering for something a little dirty, a tad raunchier and fabulous (not necessarily in that order) after a tough week at the office.

While it may have been the third time that Chicago premiered here in Singapore but it was my first time watching it live as a musical. Being surrounded only by the memories of the film version that starred Catherine Zeta-Jones as the tenacious Velma Kelly and Renee Zellweger as 'innocent' sweet Roxie Hart, I wasn't about to be influenced by that version. Oh, was I about to be treated to one of the best musicals out there!

What worked:

1. All round powerful performances by Lindsey Tierney and Genevieve Nicole as Roxie and Velma. Dayum!

2. Class - The duet with Matron “Mama” Morton and dear Velma as they sang about fallen moral codes from their high horses while in jail no less.

3. All the scenes involving charming Billy Flint, the best criminal lawyer of all Chicago whose name card would very well have read "if Jesus met me, he wouldn't end up where he did".

4. Witty cues, social satire and light touches of comedy that involved even the 11-piece orchestra rather than have them solely as background props (as it so often happens in most other musicals).

5. Sexy murderesses. Enough said.