Razzle-dazzle Broadway musical ‘Chicago’ hits up the DECC

Matthew R. Perrine, Budgeteer News
Published Thursday, August 21, 2008

Sometimes it’s just easier if Broadway comes to us. The hit musical “Chicago,” immortalized by the 2002 film of the same name, will be in town Sept. 15 at the DECC.

The Budgeteer caught up with one of the show’s leads, Melanie Waldron, who plays vaudevillian/murderess Velma Kelly. The Long Island-raised actress described her character, Catherine Zeta-Jones’ in the film, as “fantastic.”

“She’s very dynamic, very bold and brassy and witty,” Waldron said. “She’s very strong, but she’s also funny; I think she uses her wit to kind of clamor into the spotlight, which she loves so much.”

Melanie Waldron (center) plays Velma Kelly in the hit Broadway musical “Chicago,” which will make a stop in Duluth during the second leg of its nationwide tour. Image courtesy Joan Marcus

In the story, set in the Roaring ’20s — the musical is a revamp of the 1975 Broadway production, which was itself based on Maurine Dallas Watkins’ 1927 play of the same name — Waldron’s character is doing time for killing her sister and husband after she caught them together in bed. In prison, she meets Roxie Hart (played by Renée Zellweger in the film).

Without giving too much away, “Chicago” is a story of “murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery ... all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts” — at least that’s how it introduces itself in the opening lines.

And it’s proven to be quite popular; the 1996 revival of “Chicago” is reportedly the longest-running musical of its kind on Broadway.

“I first became familiar with [the musical], actually, when I was studying theater dance, and I learned about it as a child,” Waldron said. “… I actually didn’t see the show until after I’d seen the movie. I saw the Broadway production a little before I started rehearsing for our tour.”

However, these early impressions of Velma haven’t affected how Waldron approaches her character.

“I watched them both, and I can see how other people see the character, but at the end of the day when I start rehearsing for the show myself, I create my own character,” said Waldron, who has also toured nationally with “Man of La Mancha” and “In the Mood.” “You draw from what’s in the script, as opposed to what other people have presented.”

Interestingly enough, this knack for theater is anything but hereditary.

“My parents are not show people, so I was kind of a new enigma in their life when I really got an interest in it,” Waldron said. “[But] I did grow up coming to the city, seeing Broadway shows.”

Outside of “Chicago,” Waldron is involved in the New York International Fringe Festival. She’s doing a play with Patrick Flynn (“Untitled Masterpiece”), who wrote and directed “Dog Eat Dog” and “Jargon,” two films she worked on as a student at the Catholic University of America in D.C.

Still, when asked about the proverbial “dream job,” she said she’s doing it.

“Performing in Broadway shows is my dream, and I’m living it every day.” Waldron said. “It’s pretty fantastic.”

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NEWS TO USE
Catch the Jam Theatricals production of “Chicago” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the DECC Auditorium. Tickets range from $45 to $55 (plus $10.60 in building facility and convenience charges), and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 727-2121.