Chicago: The Musical

Great interpretation of a great show. My only reservation is that Ute Lemper wasn't featured more prominently. Her character had fewer of the best songs.

I bought this CD mainly because I read that Ruthie Henshall was in the London Cast recording of Chicago. I'm very glad that I did! She does a *superb* job as portraying Roxie Hart, the Vaudeville wanna-be.

Ute Lemper, who I had never heard sing before also does a wonderful job as Velma Kelly. Her rendition of "And All That Jazz" is very well done, in my opinion.

The only qualm that I had about this is that several times I could hear the cast's (mainly Henshall and Lemper) British accents coming into their singing, which made the songs not as up-to-par as I would have liked. Yet most of the songs are very well done--I do understand that it must be hard to sing with an American accent when one is of another culture.

I absolutely loved the fact that they had Roxie's monologue right before the song "Roxie." Ruthie Henshall did a splendid job with that! And I loved the act one finale. Brilliant!

All in all, this is a CD worth buying if you're a fan of this wonderful, timeless musical.

Chicago - The Musical (1998 London Cast) is the 1998 recording with the London Cast of the musical Chicago. The booklet contains a synopsis and a cast list but no lyrics. A great performance that I highly recommend. 5/5.

It's unique in recording history when four productions of a musical are staged (and/or filmed) and all four produce superb original cast/soundtrack albums. Such is the case with CHICAGO. The 1975 Original Cast, the 1996 New York Revival Cast, the 1998 London Revival Cast, and the film version all boast superb recordings with superb performances.

The length of the lp being what it was, the original cast recording is shorn of some numbers which are present on the revival cds.

Both revival recordings feature new recordings of the Entr'Acte, the song I Know A Girl, as well as the Hot Honey Rag. The NY revival adds a short reprise of I Can't Do It Alone, which the London revival does not. To counter this the London revival provides the short Act One Finale, which the NY revival does not. The London revival also adds the opening spoken soliloquy intro to Roxie, whereas neither the original cast nor the NY revival recorded this piece.

Of the two revivals the London revival comes out the strongest in my opinion. It has more spark, more dazzle. Lemper imitates Chita Rivera in a number of spots and Ruthie Henshall is vocally amazing (especially in her Roxie number) as she runs the gamut of her origial characterization.

Ann Reinking does an amazing job of totally mimicking Gwen Verdon's voice in the NY revival - why, I don't know - but it is amazing.

Buy the original cast but if you can only afford one of the revivals, make it the London cast.

This is a really great album. More music and dialogue than the Broadway counterpart album, and it has a lot of superior lead-ins to the songs as compared to the Broadway album. Ute Lemper (as Velma) is -- well, what can one say about Ms. Lemper? I definately like her, she is quite a stirring performer. But my admiration for her is more out of a sense of mystery, and out of some sort of reverence. To tell the truth, I'm so confused I can't tell if she's brilliant or terrible, but she does give an exciting "All That Jazz" and a funny "I Can't Do It Alone." She also gives the show a Brecht-Weill feel that I find is appropriate to the show. Ruthie Henshall (as Roxie) is SOOO cute. She is a major plus on "Foxy Roxie Hart" and "Funny Honey," and while she might milk every last laugh out of her Act I Soliliquy, she is SOOO cute doing it, and is obviously having fun in the role. Nigel Planer (as Amos) does wonderfully in his interpretation of "Mister Cellophane." He gets Amos's rage in their perfectlly. Yelling out the line "Beside one man for SEVEN YEARS . . . !" shows his true anger at Roxie's infidelity. I appreciate Henry Goodman's performance (as Billy Flyyn) a lot more now then I did before, and I appreciate the edge he has on the role. Meg Johnson packs a punch as Big Mama, and even Mary Sunshine has an edge to her/his/its performance (LOL). Other pluses on this album. Hearing the murderess' ad-libs at the beginning of the "Cell Block Tango." Listening to Fred and Roxie commit adultery, frollicking and laughing through the musical interludes on the "All That Jazz" track. The chorus's sinister laughter during Henry Goodman's icy "Razzle-Dazzle" is a major plus, too. All in all, this is a very styllistic interpretation of the show. It is content being its own creation, instead of merely copying the Broadway production, and this is an admirable quality that should be followed by all true artists of the theatre. BUY THIS ALBUM!

A great re-make on this show written many years ago. Glad to have this copy in my collection. Wonderful is the way to say it.

I've notice many reviews focus on Ute & Ruthie and either she's an awful Velma/she's an awful Roxie. I believe they both have great voices as displayed in "My Own Best Friend" were the two sound amazing and the icing on the cake was the harmony!!! the harmony sounds so beautiful and was the main reason i bought this album!!! I love Ann & BeBe they do great but they are Fosse Veterans, Ann for example was also in the Original Broadway Cast of the show after Gwen. However Ute & Ruthie aren't Fosse veterans like Ann & BeBe but they do give the show a nice touch!! Another song with a great harmony was Razzle Dazzle which sounds great!!!!

This fantastic cast-album of the 1998 London production of CHICAGO actually improves on the 1997 Broadway cast (refer to my review for this). It boasts the fantastic performances of Ute Lemper and Ruthie Henshall, as well as a capable supporting cast.

For a start, YES, Ruthie Henshall sings Ann Reinking right off the stage, but Henshall lacks the vulnerable 'little-girl-lost' quality that Reinking brought to the part. Added here is the monologue that preceeds the "Roxie" number, and the song is much better for it. Henshall also sings a mean "Funny Honey" and a comical "Me and My Baby".

Famed German singer Ute Lemper is right at home with the bitchy Velma Kelly; who could be seen as an extension of the 'femme fatale' character that Lemper uses in many of her songs from Kurt Weill and Brecht. She sings a showstopping "All That Jazz" and her "I Know a Girl" is hilarious.

Henry Goodman is a fine Billy Flynn (most would remember the dreadful incident last year where Goodman was fired from THE PRODUCERS on Broadway after only a week, with many unhappy with his performance), such is not the case with CHICAGO; he is well-suited to the role of Billy Flynn and sings a fantastic "All I Care About is Love".

Meg Johnson, Nigel Planer and C. Shirvell are fine as Matron 'Mama' Morton, Amos Hart and Mary Sunshine respectively.

The recording includes a bit more dialogue than the Broadway version, thanks to wunderkind producer Thomas Z. Shepard.

Highly-recommended.

Arrived super quick from Zoverstocks and in perfect condition; well worth more than the £1.50 I paid for it!! Great version of this wonderful show with the incredible Ruthie Henshall; one of the best versions of this soundtrack I have ever heard. Brings back great memories of seeing the show live. A must have!

hatte vor kurzem Chicago in Stuttgart angesehen - leider wurde es in deutscher Sprache aufgeführt, wobei die Mehrzahl der Darsteller Holländer oder "native English Speakers" waren. Das hat so gar nicht funktioniert, den Funken überspringen zu lassen.

Daher habe ich mich zu dieser Aufnahme entschlossen und habe nichts bereut.

Man MUSS das englische Original anhören, dann kann man gerne im Kopfkino die deutschsprechenden Darsteller auftreten lassen.

Die Qualität der Aufnahme ist für meinen Geschmack erstklassig.

Ich habe mir die CD aufgrund der Verfilmung geholt.

Die Aufnahme lässt von der Qualität nicht zu wünschen übrig.

Die Stimmen der Darsteller sind top.

Ich bin mit der CD sehr zufrieden und höre diese sehr oft.

Good sound track. We have seen the music at least 4 times and now we can sing along when in the car!

Good sound