Summertime Blackpool is a vibe and Chicago is kicking off the season with jazz hands

Central Radio's Nicola Adam had the pleasure of heading to the theatre to catch Chicago and shares her experience.

"As I walked through the town toward The Winter Gardens, the resort was teeming with people enjoying sun, sea and swooping seagulls. There was a party in the streets which only Blackpool can bring."

"School holidays are underway, the candyfloss man doing a roaring trade, buskers and arcades fill the air with music, the air is a riot of fish and chip aromas and the views from the prom endless."

"Peak summer has arrived. And the Winter Gardens was packed to the rafters. As theatregoers arrived for Chicago at one entrance, the other was busy with fans heading to the Darts World Matchplay events. It was packed and it was only Monday early evening."

"I was heading into the Opera House theatre for the touring production of Chicago, which landed on July 21 and will play through to Saturday (July 26). I was intrigued by the casting of Janette Manrara - who I know from Strictly - as a long-time lover of this musical I wanted to see how the production has evolved."

"It became clear very quickly that this Chicago cast was tight, well rehearsed and deeply talented. There are few musicals that test the dance flexibility and vocals like Chicago while requiring this challenging level of sexuality, nuance and humour. This production and fast and slick, each segue between songs is almost invisible, it feels like the main cast get barely a moment off stage. The versatile ensemble group, when not centre stage, are on side of stage in a variety of character role or, dangling from ladders without a moment’s breath."

"This is not my first Chicago so I’m well aware that in musical format, this production can drag between scenes if not properly directed for pace. Nothing brings down the rapid frenzy of Bob Fosse’s original choreographic style than misplaced dialogues and timings - here there is no dead space. The audience is taken along on a rapid storyline through 1920s Chicago, with its maelstrom of egos and misplaced loyalties. You take a breath and it’s the interval."

"Djalenga Scott as Velma Kelly is breathtaking. She’s lithe and acrobatic but tells the story with the tiniest of movements and expressions - her vocals are the standout in a field of standouts. She perfectly complements the petite ball of energy that is Janette Manrara both physically and vocally - and the latter encapsulates the essence of egotistical, mouthy and manipulative Roxie Hart. I was interested to hear Manrara sing and she nailed it."

"I’ve seen Darren Day on stage before but I was refreshingly surprised by the depth of his vocals and his acting performance as Billy Flynn - his singing voice is better than ever. And Linda John-Pierre as Mama Morton rightly gets a roar from the audience. I’d better not ignore him as Joshua Lloyd as Roxie’s trusting husband Amos Hart is perfect. Mr Cellophane was the song stuck in my head after the performance. My compliments to the casting directors."

"I can not fail to mention the ensemble cast and the orchestra who are all centre stage all the time. Talent and teamwork at it’s finest - it’s brilliant - go and see it."

Chicago runs in Blackpool until Saturday July 26.

The story

For the uninitiated, the story has its origins in the 1920s when gangsters ran Chicago, a time of half jazz glamour and prohibition-era criminality. Cook County jail had a dozen women on ‘murderess row’, all with a sorry story to tell to the newspapers and their stories were devoured like those of today’s celebrities. One journalist - Maurine Watkins - worked at he Tribune and made telling these transgressors’s stories into stars. The more attractive the female accused was, the more likely to persuade a jury she was innocent.

Journalist Watkins character informs Mary Sunshine in this musical production, played on stage on this particular show by Matthew Sweet. The characters of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly are also inspired by real women - Beulah Ahman became Roxie and Belva Gaertner became Velma Kelly . Their flamboyant attorney WW O’Brien became Billy Flynn. in 1826, it was Watkins herself who turned this story into a play. It then became a film the in 1975 the Kander and Ebb musical. The rest is history.