MILWAUKEE — Six nights a week, Taylor Lane listens to a band play the overture music for “Chicago.” Just as it comes to an end, she rises from the the center of the stage, a massive spotlight beaming straight on her. She looks out and sees her cast mates and a theater filled with new audiences members.
She said it’s the coolest moment she’s ever experienced in her entire life.
Lane plays Velma Kelly in the U.S. tour of “Chicago,” a role she said she never expected to land but has dreamt of since she was a little girl.
“I’m actually from Chicago, ironically. I’ve always grown up loving the musical, loving the music, loving the choreography, the movie, stuff like that. So, ‘Chicago’ has always been a bucket list show for me,” Lane said. “So the fact that it’s still touring and still on Broadway 28 years later after the revival — I never dreamt of being in the show, so it’s been a dream since I was very little.”
Not only has Land always considered herself a “Chicago” fan, but she’s been performing since a young age, too. She started dancing at age 3 and participated in a slew of musical theater summer camps before studying theater in college.
That may be why she relates to her character so much.
“Also with Velma, she’s a seasoned performer. She’s a vaudeville star; she had her own act with her sister. Throughout the story, she kind of gets challenged by Roxie’s character. Roxie keeps her on her toes and kind of stops her in her tracks and all of a sudden, she has to change her mindset and pivot and go with it,” Lane explained.
Lane said she is one of the oldest cast members in “Chicago” and admitted she can sometimes feel her age.
She also sees the talent in the younger generation.
“The industry is very rewarding with our work, but it’s also very challenging to stay in it and keep training and to really stay relevant. I feel the same pressures that I think Velma feels when she feels her shining vaudeville star is slowly starting to dim, as Roxie is rising…” she said.
“It’s been very wonderful because for so much of my career, I was the youngest one in the cast or just coming up. And all of a sudden, I blinked an eye and I’m on the flip side of things, which is why I think I resonate with her so much. I think the maturity of the role and really sinking into the ground-ness of someone who has been through some stuff and is still putting their best foot forward and is still walking with confidence.”
And taking on her iconic role with confidence is no small feat.
Lane explained the legacy of Chicago, which is the currently the longest-running active show on Broadway with more than 11,000 performances since its 1996 revival, is a huge responsibility.
But it’s also a huge reward,
“‘Chicago,’ to me, it’s a gift of tradition. To be a part of a musical that is a family, that is a legacy, that has been passed down for 28 years … and to step into the shoes of such fabulous women who have brought this show to life in the past — legends like Gwen Verdon and Ann Reinking and Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth. Those women originated these roles and they have been passed down through more incredible women over the course of time and now it’s become my turn,” she said. “So this show means so much to me because I get to bring myself into such wonderfully written, clever and brilliant characters that other powerhouse women have gotten to play. So it’s really been an honor to be a part of this show and it really means so much to me to be a part of the legacy now.”
In accordance with its longevity, the show’s themes remain relevant, even almost 3 decades since it first opened on Broadway in the 1970s.
“What’s amazing is that a lot of the lessons and topics and things that are talked about in the show are still very relevant to this day. We talk about the media a lot and the power of the media and you can’t believe everything you read and stuff like that,” Lane said. “Everything that they were dealing with 100 years ago, we’re still dealing with now. I think it’s very cool. Audiences can still relate to the show.”
Lane said she thinks it’s a great show for all audiences, whether they are long-time fans of “Chicago” or new to theater entirely.
“It’s a brilliant musical. That’s why it’s been running for so long. The book is amazing; the story is so fun with little twists and turns in it. The music is iconic; you get that brass band jazz music. You can expect to walk away tapping your toes and getting a few of the songs stuck in your head. The choreography, if you’re a dancer or you love Fosse-inspired choreography, it’s visually beautiful,” she said. “It’s a little sexy. It’s a little murderous and there’s a lot of heart and humor. The show is pretty funny. So I think it’s great for anyone.”
And for those who see the tour, they’ll be getting a similar experience they would if they saw it on Broadway, according to Lane.
The costumes and set are nearly — but not quite — identical. Of course, the set had to be slightly modified so it could travel across the country, but it looks about the same as the stationary set in New York.
That includes a unique element: The band performs on stage.
Typically, in musical theater productions, a band or orchestra will play from a pit under or near the stage. But in “Chicago” the musicians are fully immersed in the performance.
“[Having the band on stage] is one of my favorite things. This show alone between the book, the music and the choreography is a standout. I think it really plays into the fact that our stage is very simple. We have one set and the band is on there. It doesn’t move…” Lane said. “They’re not fully separated from the cast; they are a part of the show. You get to watch them play on stage the entire time, which adds just a more remarkable element to the music that’s already so good. And also our band is just incredible. All of them are so amazing.”
Even so, every performance still has its own flair. Lane said the tour’s choreographer, Gregory Butler, has a knack for highlighting each dancer’s technique.
“[The dancers] don’t have much liberty, but there is some movement where they're improving on stage and a lot of what you see has been built to the cast. Our incredible choreographer, Gregory Butler, has tailor-made the show to every set of dancers that he works with. He finds their strengths, and he puts them on display, so every time that you see it, things are going to be a little bit different depending on the strengths of the cast,” Lane explained. “So I think that’s very cool. It’s not a cookie-cutter show. You’re not going to see the exact same thing every time you see it.”
The same goes for Lane and her fellow principal leads.
“You can see ‘Chicago’ a million times and it will never be the same because the beautiful thing about ‘Chicago’ is that it’s written about raw human beings and every person that steps on stage, whether they’re in the ensemble or they’re in a principal role, they get to bring their authentic selves to the story. So yes, we’re playing characters. Yes, we’re playing parts that multiple people have played millions of times, but we also get to put ourselves into it,” Lane said.
Of course, there are countless classic elements of “Chicago” that remain true to the original.
Lane said her favorite number to perform is “Hot Honey Rag.” While the show was primarily choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse, Fosse actually choreographed the number himself.
“I really love dancing ‘Hot Honey Rag’ at the end with Roxie. We do this gorgeous duet. It’s at the end of the show and we have so much fun on stage doing it together,” she said.
Lane first learned a Fosse-style dance in high school, which is a treat for most dancers.
“[Ann Reinking] is so brilliant and the only piece of choreography in the show that is directly from Fosse is ‘Hot Honey Rag’ at the end. That is Fosse’s specific choreography. The rest is just choreographed in his style and Ann did an amazing job at carrying on his legacy,” she added.
It’s fitting that Reinking is behind so much of the choreography. After all, the show centers around women and their stories — even if they are accused murderers in jail.
“It’s very important that we see women telling their side of the story, letting their voices be the ones that are heard…” Lane said. “Some people are telling the truth and other people embellish their stories to change the perspective on them from the outside and I think it’s really important that we see women standing up for themselves, telling their own story, creating their own future, taking hold of what they can control because there were so many things back then that they couldn’t.”
It’s the story of women who are rivals and turn into friends.
Set in the glitz and glamour of the 1920s, Lane said three words immediately come to mind when she thinks of “Chicago:” Vaudeville, murder and sexy.
That goes for her wardrobe, too.
“Luckily, I get to step into the iconic costume of Velma. I only get to wear the dress twice in the show, but I get to wear this beautiful black, sparkly mini dress. It’s a halter top. It’s just iconic,” she said. “Every picture you see of Velmas on Broadway and tours and anywhere the show’s been done, the Velma gets to wear this specific dress, and I never thought that I would put it on my body, so every time I do I am so grateful.”
For “Chicago” fans, that dress may be etched in their mind, but for others it could blend into the black hues that most of the costumes possess. It’s a tad scandalous, at least for the 1920s.
But for those who can’t recall it, Lane said she still wants them to come give the show a try.
“It follows the story of Roxie Hart, who is a housewife and a nightclub dancer. She gets into a little bit of trouble when she ends up murdering her lover on the side because he threatens to walk out on her. When she goes to jail, she ends up hiring the slickest criminal lawyer in Chicago to help manipulate the media and spin her story from malicious crimes into sensation headlines,” Lane said. “All she wants to do is be famous. All she wants to do is be a vaudeville star. All of a sudden, she’s in jail and she has that platform. … Something so murderous can be turned into something so sensation through a whirlwind of scandal.”
In that jailhouse is where the audience will meet Lane’s character Velma, who she described as brilliant, clever and iconic, just like the show itself.
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"Chicago" runs at the Marcus Performing Arts Center from Jan. 14 to 19. Find ticket information, here.
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