‘Chicago’ Extends Its Run With Shubert Engagement

“Chicago” is multiplying. The musical about a sensational murder trial currently at the downtown Ahmanson Theatre will move to the Shubert Theatre in Century City for at least four weeks in July and August.

The first performance at the Shubert, on July 7, will coincide with the opening of another company from the same production at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The tour was booked into the Costa Mesa center for the week of July 7-12 more than a year ago.

This will be the first time two companies from the same production will play simultaneously at both OCPAC and another major Southland theater, according to OCPAC spokesman Greg Patterson. Indeed, sources familiar with commercial theater locally don’t remember two companies from the same touring production ever being in any two Southland theaters at the same time.

“Chicago” co-producer Barry Weissler noted, however, that his recent production of “Grease” played two Broadway theaters simultaneously for a brief period in late 1996, during a holiday season rush.

“I love doing the unexpected,” Weissler said.

Two of the stars from the Ahmanson company, Charlotte d’Amboise and Brent Barrett, will go to the Shubert, while their co-star Jasmine Guy will go to Orange County in fulfillment of a year-old promise, Weissler said. Guy will be joined there by the previously announced Alan Thicke in the role played by Barrett, and Belle Callaway in D’Amboise’s role. Neither D’Amboise nor Barrett had been advertised as coming to OCPAC.

Weissler said he doesn’t expect the L.A. run to hurt the Orange County run. Advance sales are already strong there; OCPAC’s Patterson reported that more than 80% of the tickets have already sold. Weissler predicts the show will gross “close to a million dollars” for its one week in Costa Mesa.

*

A bigger question is whether “Chicago” can support a longer L.A. engagement than the scheduled April 30-July 5 run it’s getting at the Ahmanson, where 49,000 subscribers provide a pre-sold base. The Shubert has no subscription base.

While Weissler said he can’t predict how long the run will extend beyond four weeks, he said he has previously met with extraordinary success in the Southland: “I’m knocking wood, but we haven’t had a show in 10 years that has lost money in the Southern California market.” In addition to “Grease,” his tours in the past decade have included “Gypsy,” “Cabaret,” “Falsettos,” “My One and Only,” “Zorba” and “My Fair Lady.”

At the same time, Weissler said he believes L.A. “is a tough town, a show-me town. It’s harder than New York. L.A.’s more cynical, but when L.A. goes for something, it goes in a big way.”

The announcement of the Shubert engagement risks dampening future Ahmanson ticket sales for “Chicago,” especially for Westside audiences who live closer to the Shubert. Ahmanson artistic director/producer Gordon Davidson “has a strong vote” in the show’s Southland strategy, Weissler said. “He could have stood in the way or been obstructive, but he didn’t bother me. He hasn’t imposed himself on me at all.” So far, the show is selling to at least 90% of capacity at the Ahmanson, Weissler said.

Davidson said he sees value in the experiment: “We knew this was a risk, but it’s his risk more than ours. The momentum is strong here, and I hope it’ll work. It’ll be a feather in L.A.’s cap if it works. I don’t like apologizing for L.A.’s ability to sustain shows.”