Chicago - The Musical (1996 Broadway Revival Cast) [CAST RECORDING]

Fred Ebb, Joel Grey, John Kander, James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Chicago (Related Recordings)

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 28, 1997)
• Original Release Date: January 28, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: RCA Victor Broadway
• ASIN: B000003G7W
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,091 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Revivals

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Chicago's plot was cynical and satirical in 1975, but today feels like a documentary." So says Walter Bobbie, the director responsible for this revival of the Kander, Ebb, and Fosse "musical vaudeville," which began as a minimalist concert staging for New York City Center's Encore! series before moving on to Broadway, critical acclaim, and Tony Awards. Actually, it'd be hard to go wrong with any production, no matter how it's staged, because the Roaring '20s jazz-based music here is simply great. Some people actually prefer the original's Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera as Roxie and Velma to Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth, but no matter. Joel Grey is perfect as Amos Hart, James Naughton matches Jerry Orbach's original Billy Flynn, and again, the music here is wonderful. A near-flawless classic. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a dynamic recording, January 22, 2003

By	Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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For many, this was their introduction to the galvanising score of Kander and Ebb; the delightful cast-recording to the 1997 Broadway revival that would have never been possible without the now-legendary Encores! concert version in 1996.

The cast is uniformably excellent; Ann Reinking is a playful powerforce as Roxie Hart, Bebe Neuwirth's dry wit serves her well as the bitchy Velma Kelly, James Naughton is the epitome of suave as crooked lawyer Billy Flynn, Joel Grey is the perfect foil for Roxie as the henpecked Amos Hart, Marcia Lewis' powerful voice brings Matron 'Mama' Morton to life, and D. Sabella's breathtaking operatic chops are put to the test with gender-bending sob sister Mary Sunshine.

Rob Fisher's unparalled musical direction enlivens each and every recording that he conducts for, and CHICAGO is no exception. Brassy, well-paced and evocative, his direction is fantastic under the renowned Coffee Club Orchestra.

Ann Reinking's vocal style is fine; her singing is quite character-driven, and one can forgive her lack of singing finesse on the fact that she IS Roxie Hart, and danced the role for all its worth.

Numbers like "All That Jazz", "Funny Honey", "Cell Block Tango", "When You're Good to Mama", "Mister Cellophane", "Nowadays" and "Roxie" are all show-stoppers. I've said it many times; this score is simply dud-free, and in my opinion only rivals CABARET as Kander and Ebb's greatest score.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A WONDERFUL RECORDING!!, March 7, 2003

By	"theycallmemimi01" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

First of all, this is the recording that got me interested in Chicago. Velma, (my favorite character)is played by the beautiful and talented Bebe Neuwirth. She is a wonderful and witty Velma Kelly. Ann Reinking is a great Roxie. I actually prefer her raspy voice over Renee Zellweger's soft Roxie. James Naughton is SUPERB as Billy Flynn, he can make you laugh without hardly trying. Joel Grey as Amos Hart was a wonderful choice, and finally, Marcia Lewis as 'Mama' Morton and D. Sabella as Mary Sunshine were also great contributions to this album. Here is a list of the songs and their ratings.

1.Overture- Great music, 4 stars

2.All That Jazz- Love Velma's voice, great kaereoke song, 5 stars

3.Funny Honey- Lovely song about Roxie and Amos's love, 5 stars

4.Cell Block Tango- Film version of this song is better, 3 stars

5.When You're Good to Mama- Marcia's voice is perfect, 5 stars

6.All I Care About- Better version than the film by far, 5 stars

7.A Little Bit of Good- Interesting..., 3 1/2 stars

8.We Both Reached for the Gun- One word... fun, 5 stars

9.Roxie- Ann Reinking's best performance, 4 1/2 stars

10.I Can't Do It Alone- I love this song, 5 stars

11.I Can't Do It Alone (reprise)- Not really a song, 3 1/2 stars

12.My Own Best Friend- Roxie and Velma's duet, 4 stars

13.Entr'Acte- Fun to listen to, 4 stars

14.I Know A Girl- Witty song about Velma's jealousy, 4 1/2 stars

15.Me and My Baby- Cute song about Roxie's new "baby", 5 stars

16.Mister Cellophane- Amo's life story, very sad, 5 stars

17.When Velma Takes the Stand- Self explainable, 4 stars

18.Razzle Dazzle- Interesting song, 5 stars

19.Class- Powerful and funny song, 5 stars

20.Nowadays-Good song, 4 stars

21.Hot Honey Rag- Very fun music, 5 stars

22.Finale- Great ending, 4 stars

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Score Which Gets Better & Better, June 11, 2005

By	AJK (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

When I originally saw this revival (& Bebe Neuwirth deserved her Tony!), I enjoyed many of the songs, but the plot was somewhat lost on me. The movie totally cleared things up and seeing the show on tour again last year only solidified my enthusiasm for this show and Kander/Ebb's music.

The original production surfaced in 1975 & was completely overshadowed by "A Chorus Line" (which came out at the same time), but the voices and orchestrations are so much more improved in this 1996 revival cd.

The best tracks include:

All That Jazz [Bebe Neuwirth makes this standard her own]
Cell Block Tango [great staging/lyrics]
When You're Good To Mama
All I Care About [James Naughton introduces us to Billy Flynn]
We Both Reached For The Gun
Roxie [Ann Reinking's big song, though her dancing is better than her voice]
Mister Cellophane
Razzle Dazzle
Nowadays [a classic!]

A MUST have!