Murder! Mayhem! And all that jazz! Right in the middle of it is David Schlumpf, playing Billy Flynn in Wagon Wheel Theatre’s production of “Chicago.” “‘Chicago’ is a story about, a bigger story about adultery and treachery, but it’s also more simplistically a story about these wives that are fed up with their husbands, get frustrated and kill them,” Schlumpf said during an interview Monday afternoon. “And Billy Flynn is the best defense lawyer in town, in Chicago. He takes care of all these women and makes sure that all of them get off, and then afterwards they usually pick up a pretty good entertainment contract. It’s kind of the cool part of the Vaudeville style and Vaudeville portion of the story, that fact that at that time in the ’20s this kind of news was so spectacular that it would create careers for them despite the fact that it was on such malicious grounds.” That’s not to say that the news doesn’t create infamous celebrities in today’s society. “I think that what’s really cool about this, is it becomes a courtroom drama towards the end, and the fact that it’s so much – whether it’s the OJ trial or the Casey Anthony trial – all of these high-profile trials, we kind of sensationalize the experience of these people who are accused of such heinous acts but apparently they’ve done these things and there’s something about it we’re drawn to, we can’t look away from. It’s like we say, say a bus crash, you can’t just turn away. It’s awful, and horrible and I couldn’t stop staring at it,” he said. “I think there’s something really fascinating about someone that is that different, that lives in that different of a world that makes decisions like murdering her husband.” Each production of “Chicago” is different, Schlumpf said. The original was directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. “But what’s fantastic about this production is that (Artistic Director) Scott Michaels has really turned it into his own production,” Schlumpf said. “It’s very much more about Vaudeville, and about jazz, and the ’20s, the Roaring ’20s, so we take our character development from cues from him.” Flynn, Schlumpf said, is very much the salesman, a smooth and sweet talker. The version in the Wagon Wheel production is not as smarmy as in the original Broadway production, he said. “He’s definitely a little more of the smooth talker,” he said. Those who have not seen a production of “Chicago” on the stage may have seen the Oscar-winning film starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere. Gere played Flynn in the movie musical. “I think this production is definitely informed by that, by the movie, it’s definitely something everyone knows. It’s an Academy Award-winning movie,” Schlumpf said. “I have to admit that Richard Gere wasn’t my favorite person in that movie, so I actually haven’t seen it in a while. I personally don’t like to watch movies before I do a show because I like finding all my work in the script and not necessarily someone else’s interpretation because I think the only way I can create the best Billy for me is to look at the words and find the life out of that that connects to me and tell that story as opposed to tell the story that Richard Gere told in that movie.” While the Wagon Wheel version may have some elements of the movie version, Schlumpf said the theater’s “Chicago” is pretty cool on its own. Different actors are playing the various roles and everybody’s bringing a “very unique” spin to the production, he said. This production of “Chicago” is Schlumpf’s first time in the musical, but the role might be one he was destined for, according to people who know him. “It’s definitely one people said I would play at one point,” he said. “I’m really excited to be Billy. He’s definitely smooth and he’s very, very smart. But he’s also a little dirty so I kind of like that. I like that he’s a good balance of a lot of different things. It keeps him very interesting. You never quite know exactly whether he’s smooth talking you or giving you the truth. I like that about him.” In some ways, Schlumpf said Flynn could be an anti-hero. There’s a line in the musical about Flynn being the voice of the downtrodden. But how the audience sees him could vary, making him an anti-hero, hero or villain. “That’s what makes the show fascinating,” Schlumpf said. “Depending on how you look at that situation, that’s how you are going to interpret these different characters and circumstances that are going on.” Many of the songs in “Chicago” are very well known. There’s “All That Jazz,” “Class,” “All I Care About is Love,” “We Both Reached for the Gun,” “When You’re Good to Mama,” “Mister Cellophane” and more. The music also is vastly different from the previous shows this summer season at the Wagon Wheel. “I think it’s amazing to do this show right after ‘Carousel’ because ‘Carousel’ is such a lush, gorgeous, almost operatic score. And then we go to ‘Chicago’ and it’s so jazz, and it’s hot and it’s fast and it’s amazing,” Schlumpf said. “The music is just so slimy, and so good, and gooey, you dig your fingers into it and that will bring a completely different aspect of the characters and storytelling to the work.” “‘Chicago’ is a deceptive play,” he continued. “People think that the music is so great, and the dancing is so awesome, it’s just going to figure itself out. But Scott’s really done an amazing job. There’s a lot of pitfalls in it and Scott’s done an amazing job of making sure the story is told using the dance, and using the music and with these scenes. The music itself is really fantastic music, and it’s great that people know that music, but they’re going to come in and have a different experience with that music because they’re going to see the dance and the story being told with it. It’s really cool.” Some people may have concerns that material in “Chicago” is more adult than previous shows. Schlumpf said a PG-13 rating would be about right. He said, “I don’t personally think that it’s a rated R production at all. I think it’s suggestive in the fact that these are sensationalized circumstances. We are talking about women who have killed their husbands. And so again, it’s as PG-13 as CNN or Fox News is. These circumstances, it’s what you choose to see. ... I think it’s a PG-13 production because ... I don’t personally find it to be uncomfortably suggestive. I think it tells real stories about people in real situations that are not necessarily the prettiest. It’s a little scantily clad, but not overly so. And it’s a sexy show, but it’s not uncomfortable by any means. I don't think it’s rated R at all. I think it’s definitely PG-13.” It’s been interesting to hear people talk about it being an adult show, he said. In his opinion, there was more stuff in “Legally Blonde” this season that was blatantly “out there.” There’s some language in “Chicago,” but it’s not over the top. A lot of it is left up to the audience's imagination.“Chicago” is playing at the Wagon Wheel now through July 28. Tickets are on sale by calling the box office at 866-823-2618 or by purchasing tickets online at wagonwheeltheatre.org For a free video of the entire interview for this story, visit the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com and look under the video section.
