Chicago - Tour

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"CHICAGO 3rd National Tour"

What the PRESS has to say:

  • GMV Review ".. The cast is phenomenal. (..) Gregory Harrison’s Billy Flynn was fantastic, and his stage presence is amazing. I had no idea his vocal ability was so strong. The role of Billy Flynn requires an actor with extreme talent and charm; Harrison has more than enough of both. .."
  • GSU Signal ".. Other standout performances included Ray Bokhour’s portrayal of Roxie’s adoring husband and Gregory Harrison’s portray of the cynical almost devil-like attorney Billy Flynn who is defending the women. (..) Gregory Harrison is equally compelling with his performance of the ultra-slick Billy Flynn. .."
  • Talkin' Broadway ".. The cast for this national tour has talent to spare and strong chemistry. (..) Gregory Harrison's portrayal of Billy Flynn is necessarily smooth, charming, and extremely well sung. (..) This slickly presented, superbly crafted and very well performed musical is in fine shape with this national tour and seems to have lots of life left in it."
  • OnMilwaukee ".. Next in the line-up was veteran Gregory Harrison as shyster Billy Flynn, with a performance so down and dirty that you wondered if the carnation in his lapel had actually found fertile soil to grow in. .."
  • Kansas City Star ".. Gregory Harrison, best known for his television work, is a revelation as celebrity attorney Billy Flynn. The role tempts many actors into over-the-top showboating, but Harrison wisely plays it Johnnie Cochran cool. Undersinging and posing debonairly through his courtroom appearances, Harrison brings a canny subtlety to the part — no mean feat considering the anti-realistic structure of the show. .."
  • The Denver Post ".. What audiences may not know is that Harrison, Braxton and Marroquin are blood brothers to "Chicago" star attorney Billy Flynn. They're ringers too. Harrison ("Trapper John M.D.") is the best-known of the trio, but all three have appeared in the Broadway revival that has been plugging along since 1996.
    Looking like a young Warren Beatty, Harrison is an understated and workmanlike Flynn, but with a singing voice superior to Gere's. He manages to capture Flynn's megalomania while generously deferring the onstage focus to his wicked, wicked co-stars. .."
  • Rocky Mountains News ".. As the slippery lawyer Billy Flynn, Gregory Harrison brings a terrific understanding of a matinée idol's crooning and Flynn's slick geniality. .."
  • The Ledger " .. Likewise, Gregory Harrison, who played lawyer Billy Flynn, was every bit the smarmy, skillful attorney, making him a delight to watch. (..) The press conference duet "We Both Reached for the Gun" was a perfectly coordinated effort by Marroquin, Harrison and company..."
  • St. Petersburg Times ".. Aside from being a ton o' fun, Chicago embodies the past, present and future of the American musical. All the best aspects of the show come across especially well in this production, packed with winning performances from a cast of Broadway veterans.
    The happiest surprise is former TV pretty boy Gregory Harrison as celebrity lawyer Billy Flynn. Harrison has considerable stage appeal and a really wonderful singing voice, holding a note for an impossibly long time without a trace of vibrato. .."
  • St. Petersburg Times ".. "Everything just went so well with the last tour," Brenda Braxton said. "Gregory Harrison is just wonderful, and I think we have a really good core of performers coming back from the last tour."
  • Philadelphia Inquirer ".. Chicago isn't an easy show for the leads. As Billy, the operator who makes an oil slick look rough around the edges, Gregory Harrison is occasionally too self-aware and prone to rejoice in his own excesses. But he is a generally effective foil to Roxie and Velma. His treatment of "Razzle Dazzle" is especially winning. .."
  • Boston Globe ".. Gregory Harrison, as the sly lawyer Billy Flynn, is less the savvy, silver-tongued charmer than the blustery showman. However, he looks totally at home in the production numbers, and he has a very solid voice. .."
  • Baltimore Sun: " .. First-rate in just about every respect, this touring production is "razzle dazzler" (to paraphrase a lyric) .. smooth-crooning Gregory Harrison as celebrity lawyer Billy Flynn .."
  • Cantonrep: " .. TV star Gregory Harrison brings a deft comic touch to the role of Billy Flynn, the shyster attorney as charming as he is corrupt. A skilled singer as well as actor, he shines in his musical numbers, among them “All I Care About is Love,” flanked by adoring showgirls, and “We Both Reached for the Gun,” a rousingly funny sequence in which he uses Roxie as a ventriloquist’s dummy. .."
  • Plain Dealer: " ... Dapper, slick and vocally commanding, Gregory Harrison from "Trapper John, M.D." steals the spotlight as Billy Flynn, the $5,000-a-case lawyer who claims he could have sprung Jesus. .. Marroquin's rag-doll floppiness and Harrison's wily vocals make the ventriloquism number "We Both Reached for the Gun" a showstopper. .."
  • Beacon Journal: " ... All of the leads in this musical are class acts, with Bianca Marroquin (Roxie), Brenda Braxton (Velma), Gregory Harrison (Billy) and Ray Bokhour (Amos) coming from the Broadway production of Chicago. .. Lighting for this show is great, considering how the costumes and set lack any semblance of color. The greatest contrast is created during the splashy fan dance in All I Care About, where all of the chorus beauties frame the dapper Harrison with white, feathered fans. .. Gregory Harrison is smooth, handsome and a fine singer as manipulative lawyer Billy Flynn. .. Media manipulator Billy calls the murder trial a three-ringed circus, which this show certainly feels like. Look for an extremely comical courtroom surprise that the movie doesn't have.
    Go be seduced. You won't forget the experience."
  • NOW Toronto: " ... Gregory Harrison has the chops to make Billy Flynn a completely credible courtroom magician. The dance sequence for We Both Reached For The Gun, where Flynn plays Roxie like a puppet, is a knockout. ..."
  • The Eye Weekly: " ... As Billy Flynn, Gregory Harrison is a true song-and-dance man who catches perfectly the show's blend of glitz and cynicism. ..."
  • The Toronto Star: " ... Gregory Harrison has Billy Flynn down perfectly, from the sandpaper charm to the insincere grin. He knows he's a phoney and it doesn't bother him a bit; he exults in it. Listen for the swagger in his voice as he boasts of his popularity ("they'll wait a year till you're available") and you know he's got his character nailed. ..."
  • The Globe and Mail: " ... But, as befits a show obsessed with society's obsession with celebrity culture, the only consistently satisfying performance comes from the only real celebrity in the cast: Gregory Harrison. True, he can't hold that famous note in We Both Reached for the Gun for long, but he may, in fact, be one of the last great matinee idols and it's no disrespect to Harrison to suggest that sliminess becomes him. His presence and that of Marcia Lewis Bryan, as Matron "Mama" Morton from the original 1975 production, are enough to salvage some if not all that jazz this musical once promised."
  • Suburban Chicago News: "... Gregory Harrison is a smooth wheeler-dealer Billy Flynn, with plenty of good looks and stage presence to go with a solid voice in sure-fire numbers like Razzle Dazzle and All I Care About. And is there a more creative number in the American musical theater than Flynn's ventriloquist to Roxie's dummy in We Both Reached for the Gun? ..."
  • ChicagoCritic: " ... This touring cast has several Chicago veterans from the Broadway production. Gregory Harrison as Billy Flynn had enough charm and poise to give us a likeable Billy. Harrison landed his number with charisma. ..."
  • Suburban Chicago News: " ... Gregory Harrison is a smooth wheeler-dealer Billy Flynn, with plenty of good looks and stage presence to go with a solid voice in sure-fire numbers like Razzle Dazzle and All I Care About. And is there a more creative number in the American musical theater that Flynn's ventriloquist to Roxie's dummy in We Both Reached for the Gun? ..."
  • Daily Southtown: " ... The big surprise of the evening for those who are accustomed to seeing Gregory Harrison in many of his television portrayals is that the handsome star is a terrific song-and-dance man. Dressed in an elegant tux, Harrison is a real charmer as the slick, scam-artist of a lawyer Billy Flynn, who not only pulls the wool over the eyes of judge and jury, but really "razzle dazzles" the audience.
    A bold, brassy, and fun-loving production, this "Chicago" is guaranteed to steal your heart. Give yourself a delicious treat and run to see it."
  • Oak Park Newspaper: " ... When Bianca Marroquin as "Roxie Hart" is used as a puppet by her lawyer, the one and only Gregory Harrison as "Billy Flynn", her performance shines and many in the audience chose to applaud even before the scene was completed. .. Gregory Harrison playing the part of "Billy Flynn" is talented and engaging. His presents on stage is focused and his dress immaculate. Mr. Harrison as a singer, dancer and actor are worth the price of a ticket in themselves. ... "
  • Chicago Sun-Times: " ... Watch Bianca Marroquin in the number "We Both Reached for the Gun," when she plays ventriloquist dummy to her defense attorney, Billy Flynn (slick work by Gregory Harrison), and she will knock you out, unless she knocks herself out first. ... "
  • Chicago Tribune: " ... Gregory Harrison makes Billy Flynn work the old-fashioned way - by acting the role of the sleazy lawyer. ... "
  • U-Entertainment: " ... On their advice, she hires lawyer Billy Flynn (Gregory Harrison), who has a reputation for getting his clients acquitted, no matter how heinous their crimes. .. Then there are the men. Harrison's Billy Flynn is just the right amount of slimy, and the feather choreography in his big number, "All I Care About," ' is a lot of fun. ..."
  • L.A. Times/Daily Pilot: " ... A celebrity murder case would be nothing without the ever-present flashy defense lawyer, who, of course, is a celebrity in himself. Gregory Harrison's Flynn is at once slimy and attractive, representing the worst of the legal system with a winning game show host smile. We are all familiar with the type of lawyer Billy Flynn is, and Harrison's challenge is to stay true to his this character while, at the same time, allowing the audience to like him. Harrison brings out the complacency and arrogance of his character, but his winning smile and wonderful quips give him a human quality, allowing the audience to believe that the jury and the press are besotted with a love for him that can only help his clients. Harrison's Flynn is truly the "first-rate sorcerer" he claims to be. ..."
  • Daily Trojan: "... Fortunately for the national tour, everyone on stage is up to the task of making a great show. The leads, the chorus and even the on-stage band and its conductor pull out all the stops, playing their roles for the maximum comic effect. ... Gregory Harrison is a suave and confident Billy Flynn. ..."
  • HoustonChronicle.com: "... Gregory Harrison plays silver-tongued lawyer Billy Flynn with a con artist's certainty and a crooner's insincere charm. His smooth singing and engaging presence are major assets. ..."
  • 104 KRBE: " ... The story is centered around Roxie Hart (Bianca Marroquin), Velma Kelly (Brenda Braxton), and Billy Flynn, played by mini-series and TV movie star Gregory Harrison. Trust me, you’ve seen him. ... Forget about Richard Gere as Billy Flynn. Gregory Harrison sings circles around the famed star. His booming voice lends believability that he is, in fact, a scumbag lawyer who claims all he cares about is love..right. ..."
  • PittsburghLIVE.com: " ... The stark artifice of the staging supports the show's examination of Americans' willingness to allow deceit, posturing and the ability to rearrange the facts to overrule truth.
    There's a few notable exceptions to this sexy, revealing dress code. Gregory Harrison's deliciously calculating Billy Flynn sports a tux throughout. ..."
  • Charlotte Observer:
    " ... But the surprise of this particular company is Gregory Harrison as shyster Billy Flynn. Like Antonio Banderas, the toast of Broadway in a revival of "Nine", Harrison has a pretty face and a fairly lightweight reputation. But also like Banderas, Harrison has impressive stage credits and an even more impressive singing voice. In fact, in the role originated by Jerry Orbach, Harrison has the most musical pipes on a stage filled with good singers. His is one of three characters whose dancing need be only passable, and his lounge-lizard smile adds electricity to an already high-voltage show. ..."
  • Musicalstages.co.uk:
    " ... The other name above the title is that of Gregory Harrison who is glamorously superficial as the part requires and delivers both an excellent “All I Care About” and “Razzle Dazzle ...”
  • Variety June 18, 2003
    " ... Gregory Harrison is smooth and oily as the handsome Billy Flynn. (...) There is not a weak singing voice in the cast. ..."
  • Potomacstages
    " ... The other name above the title is that of Gregory Harrison who is glamorously superficial as the part requires and delivers both an excellent “All I Care About” and “Razzle Dazzle". A highlight for both with Marroquin and Harrison comes on “We Both Reached for the Gun,” where she sits on his lap as a puppet while he answers the questions at a press conference. ..."
  • Talkin Broadway
    " ... Television and stage actor Gregory Harrison takes on the role of Billy Flynn. His slick portrayal of the rather sleazy lawyer is right on the mark. ..."

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