by Amanda Kerr

UHCLIDIAN STAFF

From the Broadway stage to movie theaters, Chicago proves to be a hit among both venues.

The Broadway restoration of Chicago manages to revive the musical genre for modern audiences. The transformation from stage to screen is sensational.

The movie is bursting with energetic scenes of song, dance, adultery, fraud, bribery, corruption and even murder.

The reinvented musical has already received eight Golden Globe nominations and is predicted to receive several Oscar nominations for acting, choreography, costumes and makeup.

With the exception of Catherine Zeta-Jones, who has been dancing since she was four, director Rob Marshall was successfully able to transform actors with little or no prior musical experience into true vaudeville entertainers. Chicago focuses mostly on Renee Zellweger's character, Roxie Hart. Hart is an unsatisfied housewife craving attention from the outside world. She dreams of making it big on the vaudeville stage one day.

The leading lady of the vaudeville stage at the time is the arrogant Velma Kelly, played by Zeta-Jones. Kelly's title is suddenly revoked when she is arrested for a mysterious murder.

Not long after Kelly's arrest, Hart is also arrested for murder. While in jail, both women compete for the spotlight in their over publicized trials with the help of their egotistical lawyer, Billy Flynn, played by Richard Gere.

The song All that Jazz opens the musical and entirely sets the tone and era for the audience.

The musical number, Cell Block Tango, is especially eye catching with exceptional cinematography and colorful lighting enhancements.

While in prison, Zeta-Jones and Zellweger are joined by Mya Harrison who plays Mona, a fellow cellmate, and Queen Latifah who plays Mama Morton, the prison matron.

Harrison shows off her singing talent in the number Cell Block Tango and Latifah blows the audience away with her musical number When You're Good to Mama.

"Rehearsals were very lengthy and usually lasted at least six hours a day," Harrison said. "I really loved working with Catherine and Renee. I enjoyed it to the fullest."

John C. Reilly plays the devoted husband of Roxie Hart and reveals his musical talent with his rendition of Mr. Cellophane.

Chicago has an astonishingly talented cast who portray their characters vividly with the imaginative directing of Rob Marshall.

The big screen version competently captured the feeling of attending a live Broadway musical.

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