Ben
Brantley

November 15, 1996

WHO would have thought there could be such bliss in being played for a patsy?

April 22, 2014

April 22, 2014

Greg
Evans

November 23, 1996

Any gripes about the producers of “Chicago” charging full-scale prices for a stripped-down show evaporate like vapors from bathtub gin the second Bebe Neuwirth & Co. open the show with a pulse-quickening rendition of “All That Jazz.” This concert staging, wonderfully choreographed by Ann Reinking (with a credit to “the style of Bob Fosse”), is a bit more elaborate than when presented by City Center’s Encores series in the spring, but even if it weren’t, the performances, wit and sophistication of the show would more than earn a place on Broadway.

April 22, 2014

April 22, 2014

Broadway’s busiest revolving door, better known as the nearly 10-year-old revival of Chicago, has someone new passing through: the R&B superstar with the single moniker of Usher has joined the company through October 1. The 27-year-old, baby-faced Grammy Award winner is the latest performer to wear the dapper duds of silver-tongued lawyer Billy Flynn, and while he’s a good two or three decades younger than most of his predecessors, the tuxedo fits decently enough. He won’t linger in the memory — like Jerry Orbach or James Naughton — but neither does he embarrass himself or producers Barry and Fran Weissler, who tapped him for the role.

April 22, 2014

In that dicey district known as Broadway, there are no sure bets, but reviving a cherished old musical comes close. Find a Rodgers and Hammerstein gem that’s been away for a while or dust off a fondly remembered piece of froth like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and nostalgic theatergoers will probably beat a path to your stage door.