Yesterday, it was announced that a new 2023-2024 Australian tour of CHICAGO is in the works. The new production shall commence at Perth’s Crown Theatre in November 2023, before heading to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in January 2024 and Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre starting March 2024 – with other legs of the tour to potentially follow. It was a solid choice of production, with a timeless charm, timeliness in our current age of ‘fake news’ and more.
While casting is currently underway, and all we have from the producers is that the show will feature a “star-studded cast”, we do have a relatively recent production to compare it with… the 2019 production which Australian producers John Frost and Suzanne Jones were also involved with. This season (review here) snuck in just before the pandemic caused years of chaos for the performing arts industry.
Having been in attendance at the Brisbane Media Call back in November 2019, if you want a sneak peek at what you may expect from the production, I have included all four performance snippets I recorded, featuring the 2019 cast.
It should be noted that this should not be an indication on whether any of the principal cast will be reprising their roles, as we have absolutely no word on cast announcements, and it is very likely going to see a new lead cast.
All That Jazz
Performed by Alinta Chidzey (in the role of Velma Kelly) and the Chicago the Musical Australia (2019) ensemble cast.
All I Care About
Performed by Tom Burlinson (in the role of Billy Flynn) and the Chicago the Musical Australia (2019) ensemble cast.
Roxie
Performed by Natalie Bassingthwaighte (in the role of Roxie Hart) and the Chicago the Musical Australia (2019) Ensemble Cast.
When You’re Good to Mamma (Excerpt)
Performed by Casey Donovan (in the role of Matron “Mama” Morton)
