Review: Chicago UK Tour 2025, Edinburgh - Roxie and Velma rule this smoking-hot Chicago
Updated: Mar 19
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Music, book & lyrics: John Kander and Fred Ebb | Co-author, original director and choreographer: Bob Fosse
Directed by Walter Bobbie
Edinburgh Playhouse | 4 February 2025
Production photos:
Chicago the musical 2025 UK Tour review, Edinburgh ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Created by musical theatre greats Kander and Ebb, and legendary choreographer Bob Fosse, Chicago is the longest running American musical on Broadway and in West End history. It has won every award that you can think of (Tony's, Olivier's and even a Grammy.)
The new UK tour production boasts a cast of British stage and screen favourites: Faye Brookes, Brenda Edwards, Kevin Clifton, Djalenga Scott, Joshua Lloyd and Jordan Lee Davies. With a pedigree like that, it's no wonder that Chicago has sold out the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre, with its huge 3,000+ seat auditorium, for its week-long run this February 2025.
What is Chicago the musical about?
In 1920's gangsterland Chicago, Roxie Hart (Faye Brookes), is a fame-hungry nightclub dancer and housewife who murders her lover but tells her infatuated husband that he was a burglar.
Caught in a lie, arrested and thrown in jail, Hart meets other glamorous murderesses, including vaudeville star Velma Kelly (Djalenga Scott.) Hart hires shifty criminal lawyer Billy Flynn (Kevin Clifton) to ensure that she makes sensational headlines and wins the public's affections ahead of her jury trial.
It's a musical about women accused of murder. But it's also about corruption, celebrity, the power of the media, the public's insatiable appetite for grisly stories... and all that jazz.
The iconic Kander and Ebb score includes some of musical theatre's best known songs, including “Razzle Dazzle”, “Cell Block Tango”, and “All That Jazz”. And the staging for this production of Chicago sees the band seated on the stage with the Musical Director and musicians cleverly integrated into the performance.
While I always love to see musicians on stage rather than hidden underneath, the large tiered platform for the band here takes up so much of the stage floor that the actors and dancers perform on a narrow strip at the front of the stage. There is no set to speak off and barely any props, - a few chairs, feathers and ladders here and there. It's staged like a concert production.
And while I think Chicago can get away with this because, much like Kander & Ebb's Cabaret, the nightclub-esque setting works, and the company play various supporting roles, albeit still dressed in their club lingerie, it is odd. I do feel the dancers and the epic dance numbers deserved a little more space to manoeuvre.
[Note: The Edinburgh Playhouse stage is large; it hosts many touring shows and companies that don't fit elsewhere (Miss Saigon and her show-stopping helicopter for example.)]
Dance is of course central to Chicago and the company here are excellent. With Ann Reinking's sensational, sassy choreography, in the style of Fosse's original, there's no mistaking the sexy, jazz-hands-esque moves that expertly represent the decadence and razzle dance of the 1920s. With the stunning dancers mainly clad in black lingerie throughout, this is one smoking, sultry show.
The ensemble company is full of exquisite dancers and the lead cast can absolutely hold their own too.
Kevin Clifton, best known for being a pro on Strictly Come Dancing does very little in terms of dancing here. But he nevertheless lights up the stage with his stage presence and excellent voice. This is perhaps the fifth musical theatre production I've seen Clifton star in now and I'm still shocked by how good his singing voice is every time. I shouldn't be. He's more than proved himself to be a brilliant all round performer and his understated "Razzle Dazzle" here is magnificent.
Leading ladies Djalenga Scott and Faye Brookes can do everything. They are both breathtaking. Whether individually or together they are the central focus of this show and quite rightly so. From the magnificent opening number "All That Jazz" through to "Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag" Scott and Brookes' are captivating, triple threat talents.
"Cell Block Tango" with the six merry murderesses of Cook County Jail is a highlight of the show, as is "We Both Reached for the Gun." Faye Brookes comic acting will never fail to wow me and she shows it off expertly in this number playing a puppet to Kevin Clifton's ventriloquist.
But the surprise contender for musical number of the night for me is Joshua's Lloyd's heartbreaking Mr Cellophane. A stunning performance of a profound and poignant song.
Some actors did fare better than others with portraying an American accent, and at times I found I missed some of the dialogue due to diction issues. The storyline moves from location to location with nothing more than audible clues to guide us, so clear sound and articulation are a must.
The book of Chicago is fantastic. I'd argue it's one of the best in musical theatre. 1920's blood-soaked Chicago is such a fascinating time period and this musical is a smart, satirical take on the glamorous female murderers and wide-spread corruption of the time. Roxie and Velma personify the saying "If you can't be famous, be infamous."
While not a perfect Chicago, I still really enjoyed it. A number of outstanding performances and the unforgettable soundtrack will ensure this production is a sure-fire success.
🌟 The UK Tour of Chicago plays at Edinburgh Playhouse from 4 - 8 February 2025 and then continues on tour across the UK in 2025.
Chicago - starring Strictly Come Dancing's Janette Manrara - will be at Glasgow King's Theatre in August 2025. Read Janette's casting announcement here.
Chicago UK Tour dates - Scotland
4 - 8 February 2025
Edinburgh Playhouse
18 - 23 August 2025
King's Theatre, Glasgow
MORE: Also on in Edinburgh this month - Mary Poppins!
Chicago UK Tour cast 2025 - Edinburgh Playhouse
Velma Kelly Djalenga Scott
Roxie Hart Faye Brookes
Amos Hart Joshua Lloyd
Mama Morton Brenda Edwards*
Billy Flynn Kevin Clifton
Mary Sunshine Jordan Lee Davies
Company: Jessica Keable, Josh Crowther, Jacob Mclay Reid, Annabelle Laing, Victoria Anderson, Ria Tanaka, Lucy-Anne Stacey, Bethany Adamson, Joe Dale, Robin Kent, Georgie Olney, Matthew Sweet, Jonathan Milton, Robin Kent, Oliver Ramsdale, Elly Shaw
*Brenda Edwards also made her directorial debut this year with Hairspray the musical UK Tour. Read my review of Hairspray here.
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