​ Chicago, the longest-running American musical in Broadway history has returned to the London West End stage and is playing to packed houses at the Phoenix Theatre.

Doesn't time fly

I was fortunate enough to be there when Chicago first opened in London back in 1979 - and blew audiences away.

The then 'hard-hitting', Bob Fosse musical that took the West End by storm was raw, raucous and irreverently unscrupulous.

It was one of the defining moments in my early theatrical addiction.

Since then, Chicago has soared through the eighties, nineties and noughties in an almost non-stop carousel of productions worldwide.

And garnered awards, accolades and audiences by the bucketload long the way.

In addition to Broadway box office record for a musical, Chicago returned to London's Wet End in 1997 - and stayed until2012.

Unfortunately, I must was too busy getting on with my own life to see this production.

But now a new production of Chicago is back on the London stage, with Sarah Soetaert as Roxie and Josefina Gabrielle as Velma and Cuba Gooding Jr as Billy Flynn, and I just had to get along.

They say time flies when you are enjoying yourself and, for me, the 29 intervening years have passed in the proverbial blink of eye.

But as the curtains draw, the band strikes up and the company takes us into All that Jazz (an immediate show stopper), I just knew little was going to have changed with this musical.

For Chicago is (dare I say like me) fundamentally the same.

Older? Naturally.

Shorn of the bumptiousness of youthful, reactionary vigour? Maybe.

But stil vibrant and able to offer something to society? You bet ya!

This is the prohibition-era Chicago of the 1920s and Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly are two entertainers sitting on death row, with a ragbag of other inmates, awaiting either execution or reprieve.

Hart and Kelly are to be tried for separate murders, which they bothcommitted without remorse, because the guys the killed 'had it coming'.

Hart and Kelly are, naturally, looking for thier respective juries to acquit,when eventually allocated their day in court.

And they are equally determined to exploit their 15 minutes of notorious fame - if the gallows can be avoided.

Their hope for a not guilty verdict is pinned on Billy Flynn a money fixated, celebrity lawyer.

With a corrupt criminal justice system and a society fascinated by the 'superstar' status of criminals, Flynn plans to help the two women by first wooing and then manipulating a sensation seeking media.

A cracking musical

The first thing to say about Chicago is that this is a cracking musical.

The current London ensemble is supremely talented, as are the first -rate, on-stage musicians who quickly become integral to the evenings enjoyment.

Song and dance numbers that include All That Jazz, Razzle Dazzle, He had it coming and Hot Honey Rag are toe tapping highlights and the inmates'back stories' are embellished with macabre wit and real pathos.

And while Chicago may not slug like the young bruiser it once was, this production compensates with genuine whimsy and a more subtle satire.

Comparisons can not be avoided

With its tale of how money 'talks' linked in a society with a paucity of scruples where media mania and fake news abounds, there is no escaping the comparison with the USA of today.

And while Chicago is, first and foremost, a truly enjoyable evening in the theatre, the more serious message regarding what we as society are influenced by still seeps through.

As for time flying when enjoying yourself, this production soared by.

My partner, who had not seen Chicago before and therefore came without baggage to this production was more succinct.

"Wasn't that just great. The absolute best".

Useful links

www.chicagowestend.com

www.phoenix.londontheatres.co.uk

www.chicagothemusical.com