Photos courtesy of Chicago

THE Merry Murderesses of Chicago strut their
stuff, while Brent Barrett (right) who plays
“shrewd” tawyer Billy Flynn in the toe-tapping
musical, is a busy guy when he’s not rehearsing or
performing.

Friday, September 11, 1998 - North Shore News - 15

| Telephone tag and All That Jazz

By Deana Lancaster
News Reporter

BRENT Barrett was supposed to be
in his San Diego hotel room at 10
a.m. last Friday.

That's where P was going te call hint so we
could talk about his role inthe bir musical,
Cincage, opening in Vancouver next week.

He wast there. T wanted to ask him how
he liked plaving Billy Flynn, the shrewd Jawver,
who turns nightclub dancer and murderess
Roxie Hart into a celebrity. he part scems like
fun, in fact, the whole musical does.

The dark comedy outlines the plight of the
murderess and how, with the help of Flynn,
Hart turns her crime inte an achievement. Irs
stuffed full of sexy, smoky tunes dike 1 That
Jace and Rassle Dassle and Vaudevillian
monilouues, like those of the merry murder
esses in Cell Block Tange. Choreography is

courtesy of Ann Reinking, a long-time muse of

Bob Fosse. Its not a surprise that its garnered
six Tony Awards, and stv Drama Desk Awards.

When Barrett returned nw call later in the
day, full of apologies. T wasn't ar my desk. He

tet a messave with hts cell phone number, so 1
tried him there. “Hello?” he sounded a little
muttled, like he had something in his mouth

“Are vou busy?” Toasked. He was cating
lunch. But betore we agreed to postpose our
chat for dater iy the dav. he unintentionally
answered another ef the questions on my list:
How heetic did he tind the touring schedule?
He mentioned he'd been trving to squeeze a
few errands into he morning, just missing my
call.

He said he had a doctor's appointment atter
lunch because he woke up with what could be
strep throat that morning. | expect contracung
strep throat would be a disaster for any musical
theatre performer, especially one with a very
long note to hit at the end of We Bor Went For
The Gun. | would have asked him about that,
too, if Pd had the chance.

After his doctor's appointment he had a
rehearsal. I was going to wait until he called —
se TEcould ask him abour the wav Billy Flyno
toved with the reporters in, Chicago —- but a
sunny weekend beckoned. Maybe TH ask him
when Chicage opens in Vancouver on Tuesday.

The show runs to Sept. 27. Tickets range
from $35 to $69 at Ticketmaster, 280-4444.

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