Pioneer Theatre Company artistic director Charles Morey, who is directing the 2006-07 opener, "Chicago," says, "I think, indeed, we will 'Razzle Dazzle' the audiences, and I think we're really doing this thing right."
During an interview prior to a recent morning rehearsal, Morey said that the show itself "is fun, dark, cynical and sexy with a wonderful, incredibly talented cast who are fabulous actors as well as great dancers and singers."
"Chicago," with book, lyrics and music by John Kander and Fred Ebb ("Cabaret"), also marks a homecoming of sorts for local actress Klea Blackhurst, who last performed on the Pioneer stage in 1985 when she was playing Mrs. Rose in "Hello, Dolly" (and understudying the title role).
Blackhurst, who has built a major career in New York City as a cabaret and recording artist, was in Utah twice in recent years — performing her Ethel Merman revue at Kingsbury Hall in 2002 and directing "Radio Gals" at the Grand Theatre in 2003, with her mother, Winky Horman, in a principal role.
Staying with the rest of the out-of-town "Chicago" cast in the Charleston Apartments, Blackhurst was enjoying a rain-soaked view of the Wasatch Mountains from her suite during a telephone interview.
Twenty-one years ago, Blackhurst was finishing her work in the U.'s then-popular musical-theater training program and concluded her Equity apprenticeship with Morey "signing me to my first Equity contract."
Blackhurst is playing the pivotal role of jailhouse matron Mama Morton. "I love the role. It's a great role for me, and Chuck was really smart to think of me for the part, because I don't think it would have occurred to me. I had the Broadway revival in mind, and they seemed to be much older and much more character-y, but this is more in the context of how the show is written and Mama's personality. And wait until you see my necktie and wig!"
Blackhurst is also pleased to be working with choreographer Patti d'Beck, who has previously directed and choreographed several musicals at PTC.
Because "Chicago" is so big, with a lot of very strong "book" scenes and dancing, Morey says, "It just made more sense to break it up" with a separate director and choreographer. "D'Beck is wonderfully inventive. Her musical staging is as good as it gets."
Morey is also excited about this season's surge in subscription ticket sales — a likely 90 percent increase over last year. "Last year we sold 5,554 subscriptions, and just two weeks before we open we have 9,833. I expect we will end with somewhere around 10,500 subscribers," he said, adding that most established theaters have a 10 percent to 15 percent fluctuation, up or down, from one season to the next.
Morey figured a good measure of the subscription hike was driven by the season's two blockbuster musicals, "Chicago" and "Les Miserables," but also pointed to a new marketing ploy — a $70 season ticket in the upper balcony, which works out to $10 per show, a big bargain for PTC's productions.
The cast for "Chicago" also includes Park City actor Terence Goodman, who recently moved here from New York City, as cynical attorney Billy Flynn, who performs the show's big "Razzle Dazzle" number.
New York-based performers in the cast include Erin Crouch as Velma, the vaudeville femme fatale accused of murdering her husband; Kelly Sullivan as sultry murderess Roxie Hart; and Jim Corti (who played Harry Houdini in the original Broadway cast of "Ragtime") as Roxie's dim-witted husband, Amos (who sings "Mr. Cellophane").
The musical is based on the late journalist-playwright Maurine Dallas Watkins' original Broadway play, "Chicago," first produced in 1926 and later made into a silent film by Cecil B. DeMille. The story was adapted from two sensational Chicago murder cases in March and April of 1924, which Watkins covered for the Chicago Tribune.
The play later became a film vehicle for Ginger Rogers in 1947, retitled "Roxie Hart." Following Watkins' death in 1969, rights to the script were acquired by Kander, Ebb and director-choreographer Bob Fosse, who transformed it into the hit musical.
If you go
What: "Chicago"
Where: Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, University of Utah
When: Friday through Oct. 14
Cost: $23-$49
Phone: 581-6961
Web site: www.pioneertheatre.org
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com