BEIRUT: The first Arabic version of the famous musical “Chicago” opens this weekend in Beirut at the Salle des Ambassadeurs at the Casino du Liban, with performances on May 5, 6, and 8.
“Chicago” was written in 1975 by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. It is based on a 1926 play in which journalist Maurine Dallas Watkins fictionalized real-life crimes and their perpetrators, drawing from her reporting in the titular US city during the decadent 1920s.
Since its opening, the musical — a black comedy that satirizes corruption in the US justice system and the rise of the “celebrity criminal” — has been translated into 45 languages (and the 2002 film adaptation won six Oscars). But this is the first Arabic version. It is the result of writer, choreographer, director, and actor Roy El-Khouri’s passion for the show. The Arabized version was written by El-Khouri and Lebanese actor Fouad Yammine, with Anthony Khoury (the frontman of popular Lebanese indie-pop outfit Adonis) writing the lyrics for the songs.
El-Khouri told Arab News: “In order to obtain a license to show ‘Chicago’ in Lebanon, we had to abide by the text. We are bound by the story and songs — it is impossible to add or remove characters or change roles. We are even obligated to use specific costumes. But we have adapted the text to suit the Lebanese context, knowing that the show deals with vices that exist in all societies across the world.”
Mirva Kadi (center) in rehearsals for 'Chicago.' (Supplied)
He continued: “The political and social criticism included in the original text of the play, in lyrical and satirical forms, made it easier to adapt the script to the Lebanese situation. The play resembles our reality — as we also suffer from corruption, media collusion, and other vices that the play highlights. Adapting this work posed a great challenge for us, whether at the level of directing, acting, or dancing. It must be noted that the production house in the US reviewed the Arabized text before we got the final approval. They were very excited to sign with us.”
El-Khouri studied musical theater in New York and returned to Beirut in 2014. He has written and directed several plays and musicals, most famously 2018’s “Majnoun Leila,” which was a huge hit in his homeland.
L-R: Cynthya Karam, Roy El-Khouri and Fouad Yammine in rehearsals for 'Chicago.' (Supplied)
“Chicago” is the story of a city of contradictions, corruption, and hypocrisy, told through the eyes of two women — Roxie Hart, accused of killing her lover, and Velma Kelly, a cabaret singer accused of killing killed her husband and her sister. Both young women are sent to the Cook County Jail to await trial. And both dream of becoming celebrities.
Mirva Kadi plays the role of Velma (Selma Fehmi in the Arabic version), while Cynthya Karam plays Roxie (Nancy Nar in the Arabic version). El-Khouri plays lawyer Billy Flynn (Wael Horr); Yammine plays Roxie’s husband Amos Hart (Amin Narr), and Youmna Bou Hadir plays the role of Mama Morton (Mama Dunia), the corrupt matron of the women’s jail. Singer Matteo El-Khodr, a dance troupe, and live orchestra also participate in the 90-minute show.
“It includes dancers, 14 musicians, and 10 actors,” El-Khouri said. “The dancers are graduates from my dance institute who are now dance teachers.”
The dancers lift Mirva Kadi during rehearsals for 'Chicago.' (Supplied)
According to El-Khouri, tickets for the performances on May 5 and 6 sold out “immediately,” so the third performance on May 8 was added.
“People have been missing the theater since the pandemic hit and they’re excited about watching musicals,” he added.
“Part of the audience includes the US producers and agents of producers from Arab countries who will come to watch the musical in Lebanon in the hopes of taking it to their countries,” he continued. “We’ve already received many offers in this regard, and we can adapt the work to every Arab country in which ‘Chicago’ may be shown.”
