THEATER REVIEW:Duo dazzles and all that jazz

It’s a crime. Not the various murders committed in the musical “Chicago,” but the fact that this dynamic touring production will only be in residence through Sunday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Sure it’s been around the block a few times, and most theatergoers are familiar with it, if not the stage production then the Oscar-winning movie version. Still, this “Chicago” deserves a much wider audience.

It’s a glorious tribute to the original 1975 genius of its original choreographer, the late Bob Fosse, who also had a hand (with Fred Ebb) in creating the story. Fosse’s electric dance moves have been stirringly recreated by Gary Chryst for this superlative touring production, directed by Walter Bobbie, who has selected two exceptional song and dance artists for the showcase leading roles.

Michelle DeJean and Terra C. MacLeod may not be household names today, as Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon were when they created the roles, but they strut their stuff with style and panache. Whenever either is front and center — which is most of the time — the audience’s attention is riveted.

MacLeod opens the show with a special sizzle as the street-smart Velma Kelly, belting out the signature single “All That Jazz,” and DeJean follows as the more naive but quick-learning Roxie Hart, dispatching her faithless lover. Both deliver outstanding performances.

Soon both are behind bars and under the velvet thumb of “Mama” Morton (a svelte Carol Woods in a departure from the more corpulent actresses identified with this role) and battling not only for their freedom but for the glare of the press cameras which could boost their careers. Fittingly, the show opened on the day Paris Hilton stepped into the sunlight after her own brief incarceration.

Enter uber-lawyer Billy Flynn (Tom Wopat, familiar to TV viewers of “The Dukes of Hazzard”), who only cares about love and his $5,000 retainer. Wopat modulates this high-voltage production with his smooth and deliberate style, as well as a strong vocal presence.

A highlight — and there are many — of the show is the lament of Roxy’s pudgy husband Amos (Eric Leviton), who gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield, singing the self-pitying “Mr. Cellophane.” Kelly Crandall stirs things up momentarily as a scene-stealing slayer known as “Go-to-Hell-Kitty” and R. Bean provides a syrupy performance as a news hen called Mary Sunshine.

For those whose only exposure to “Chicago” has been the movie, you’re in for a delightful “new” experience as MacLeod and Woods lament the absence of “Class.” This number, cut from the flick, is the funniest segment of the show.

Chryst’s recreation of the stylish Fosse choreography is beautifully accomplished by a chorus line of bodies which seemingly bend in all directions.

Music directors Rob Fisher and Vincent Fanuele helm a brass-heavy orchestra that insinuates rather than dominates, never drowning out the singers but always making its musical point.

“Chicago” may be three decades old (its actual lineage can be traced to 1924) but there’s still plenty of sizzle in this latest illustrious incarnation.

Don’t let it leave town without your visitation.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: “Chicago”

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

WHEN: Closing performances tonight & Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 & 7:30, Sunday at 1 & 6:30

COST: $20 - $65

CALL: (714) 556-2787