Somehow Chicago The Musical, which has been performed several times per week here at The Ambassador…read moresince 2003, only has an average of 3 stars. I note that many comments from those who've rated it lower have nothing to do with the actual show, but mention the seating, A/C temperature, annoyance with other patrons, and even unfair comparisons to the 2002 movie. I will only rate the performance we saw, and that easily gets 5 stars. I've broken down my review with some comments about other stuff, but the 5 star rating I'm giving here only reflects the production we saw, which was outstanding.
THE PERFORMANCE:
This marks the 4th time we've seen the musical Chicago, and the 2nd time we've seen it here at the Ambassador Theater in Manhattan, where it's held permanent residency for the past 23 years. In my opinion, of all the times I've seen this musical, the cast and production we saw during this trip was overall the best. 10/10 with no real notes.
For the reviewer who claimed to be some kind of theater "expert" because she did some work in theater years ago and complained that the Chicago set was scant and the costumes cheap: Had you done some basic research, you'd know that the costumes and set you see here on Broadway are the same as the touring versions of this musical, and they look exactly that way per closely bound terms of the performance license. For example, If you want to see actual jail bars during Cellblock Tango rather than the lighting effect that's always been used in the musical version per the license, you should go watch the movie.
THE AMBASSADOR THEATER:
As others have stated, the Ambassador Theater, which opened in 1921 is on the small side, but the benefit is that patrons, even those in the balcony, are relatively close and intimate to the stage vs larger houses. Restroom lines during intermission were long, but they got everyone through in time. As others have stated, the A/C is definitely kept a bit too cold in the auditorium. One can also see areas where they need to do a bit of paint and plaster work to keep this older lady looking her best, but all that said, I'm glad they've kept this 105 year old theater in use, rather than tearing it down and erecting something generic and without character in its place.
The fact that the stage door for this theater is immediately next to the main entrance is a bonus, as patrons can exit the theater and remain there as the various actors will emerge following the show, and are usually more than willing to stick around to take photos and give autographs.
OTHER:
The only annoyance we had here had nothing to do with this musical, but rather the ignorant patrons who sat behind us and insisted on talking through the entire show and at one point decided to sing along with the "Mama" character until I quickly turned and flashed them a look which thankfully halted that. I also read where another reviewer gave this musical low marks because she was escorted out of the theater for singing along with the performers on stage. Personally, I wish the staff would do more of that, and publicize it.
The reason people pay $$$ to come and see a Broadway show is because they want to see and hear the talented actors on stage performing at their best. If you want a place where you in the audience can "participate", you should go to karaoke, go to a piano bar or even go to a church, but please - the Broadway-level performers on stage don't need your help. Moreover, the others in the audience who paid a lot of money for their tickets, deserve to enjoy the show they came to see without hearing your "participation". If you want to be on stage, they offer auditions.