Ordway

Blog

Ordway Blog: Stay connected here with what is happening at Ordway and take a look at what is going on behind the scenes.

Chicago Reviews

Fri, Aug 10, 2012 1:43 PM by Luke Anderson

The funniest songs, the hottest dancing, the sexiest cast and the greatest story on Broadway—no wonder Chicago has been honored with six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, a Grammy and thousands of standing ovations.

Starring John O’Hurley, Chicago has everything that makes Broadway great: a universal tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz; one show-stopping song after another; and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen. You dont have to take our word for it. We've asked a few great Twin Cities Bloggers to review the show and here is what they thought about the Show:

Mark’s Blog: http://bit.ly/1XWOk

mplsgossipgirl: http://mplsgossipgirl.wordpress.com/

Daniel Undem: Www.danielundem.com

Oh, Say Can you Say?: http://bit.ly/P48yPt

The Pay Bill Collector: http://on.fb.me/MZQS6J

 Coffee with Brett: http://bit.ly/QNr2Xl

Cherry and Spoon: http://bit.ly/MZQkOf

Brenda Anderson: http://bit.ly/P5Ebd9

The Minneapolite: http://bit.ly/QmbO7o

 Urban Sketchers: http://bit.ly/MyDZFe

PhenoMNal twin cities:http://bit.ly/MyiunP

Think you have what it takes to reivew Ordway show contact us at social@ordway.org 

Posted in Chicago, Blogger Night, Reviews

Comments (0)

The Reviews are in for Chicago!

Wed, Aug 8, 2012 2:47 PM by Luke Anderson

Critics are buzzing about Chicago at the Ordway! Below are several local reviews from Tuesday night’s opening performance. 

Star Tribune, "'Chicago' brings back razzle-dazzle," By Rohan Preston

BroadwayWorld.com, "It's All Show Business, CHICAGO Razzle-Dazzles Minneapolis," By Kristin Frosch

TCJewfolk.com, "'Chicago at Ordway Has It All...But They're Not My Aunts From Chicago," By Phil Goldman

HowWasTheShow.com, "Chicago at the Ordway," By John Olive

Twin Cities Daily Planet, "At the Ordway, 'Chicago' still has fishnet-clad legs," By Dana Hanson

Lavender Magazine, "Chicago really is All That Jazz," By Kathleen Watson

Tru Magazine, "Review of 'Chicago'," By Stephanie Allensworth

Chicago is at the Ordway through this Sunday, August 12 only. For ticket information, click here.

Posted in Chicago, Reviews, Theater Season, Musicals, Ordway

Comments (1)

The Razzle Dazzle Dance Contest!

Wed, Jul 25, 2012 1:17 PM by Hannah Arkelin

The legendary Bob Fosse outdid himself when he created CHICAGO. With numbers like “All that Jazz” and “We Both Reached for the Gun”, the Broadway sensation is a dancer’s dream!

Now it’s your turn.

From now until July 31^st, send us videos of your Fosse dance moves to a CHICAGO number of your choice. If you Razzle Dazzle us, you could win two free tickets to opening night! Dance with friends or send us a solo.  Just don’t forget your jazz hands!

Upload your videos to the Ordway’s Facebook Wall by Aug 1st at 5pm! Videos should be no longer than 3 minutes in length and the choreography must be to a song from CHICAGO. Winners will be chosen and notified one week prior to opening night.

Some of our staff here at the Ordway wanted to show off their own Fosse moves! Enjoy the video below and see if you can top it! Don't forget those jazz hands!

Come on, Babe! Show us what you got!

Watch on YouTube.com >>

Posted in Chicago, Musicals, Theater Season, Contests

Comments (0)

"Who said that Murder's Not an Art?"

Thu, Jul 19, 2012 11:27 AM by Hannah Arkelin

CHICAGO is the number one longest running American musical in Broadway history and it all started “with a bang.”

CHICAGO: A Musical Vaudeville opened on June 3^rd, 1975 and ran for 936 performances receiving mixed reviews. Directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse, it was ahead of its time.

Fosse and his wife, Gwen Verdon, the 1975 Roxie Hart, had been trying for years to acquire the rights to create a musical version of the play CHICAGO written by former Chicago Tribune columnist Maurine Dallas Watkins. The talented writer had witnessed and covered the murder trials of two women in 1924- Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan. Accused of killing their lovers under the influence of jazz and the prohibited drink, the lovely ladies became Watkins’ Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart.

As the riveting Velma Kelly would later do in CHICAGO, Gaertner pleaded not guilty to the murder of her lover and married a car salesman named Walter Law. She claimed to have no memory of the evening’s deadly events where she had been found on the floor of her apartment- soaked in blood. Gaertner admitted she owned the gun that had been used to kill her husband, but all she had to say was, “I don’t know, I was drunk.”

In the words of Velma Kelly, “It wasn’t until later, when I was washing the blood off my hands that I even knew they were dead.”

Like the story of Chicago goes, Annan was arrested a few weeks later for killing her lover, Harry Kalstedt. Her story, much like Roxie’s, continually evolved over the weeks leading up to her trial. She even announced she was pregnant the day after another female inmate was given a life sentence for murdering her own lover. The baby became her lifeline and her reason for shooting Kalstedt. She claimed that when she revealed her pregnancy to him there was a dramatic struggle and “they both reached for the gun.”

“So I closed my eyes and I shot…to save my husband’s unborn child!”-Roxie Hart, CHICAGO

Needless to say, Annan never did give birth to the helpless baby she claimed to be bearing.

Maurine Dallas Watkins gave herself a part in her play-Mary Sunshine of the Chicago Tribune. She described the two ladies as “jazz babies” and two of the most “stylish” and “prettiest” women on Murderesses’ Row. Much like Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, Gaertner and Annan became infamous and acquired celebrity status. They were also, incidentally, acquitted by their juries who seemed to sympathize with their predicaments. The juries were also all male. 

Beulah Annan died in 1928 after suffering from a mental breakdown. However, Belva Gaertner was able to attend the opening of Watkins’ incredible play in 1927 and recognized herself on stage! Gaertner died at 80 of old age in California in 1965. Watkins wrote more plays after Chicago, but she will always be best known and adored for her adaptation of the 1924 trials and the infamous mistresses of Murderesses’ Row.  

Posted in Chicago, Musicals, Theater Season

Comments (0)

This blog is a group effort by Ordway staff, actors, artists, musicians, dancers and all those involved in the creative process of performances, programs and events at the Ordway to provide a behind the scenes look at what happens onstage, backstage and in support of the work presented at the Ordway. We also hope to  discuss pertinent topics in our industry.

The purpose of this blog is to engage with you in the blogosphere. We wish to let you know that our posts do not go through any official editorial process for spelling, grammar or fact checking, therefore errors may occur – please be kind! Every blog post is open for public comment, questions or suggestions and the Ordway chooses not to pre-screen these responses. That being said, we do reserve the right to remove any offensive, illegal, or inappropriate content at the Ordway's sole discretion.

As part of our new branding initiative surrounding the joy provided by performing arts, by posting a comment, question or suggestion you provide the Ordway with the right to use your submission for marketing and promotional purposes. (I know, I know, I promise to not make future posts as boring as this one!)

Phew! I'm done talking "legal jargon." Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog!