| re: In like Flynn: Does Billy usually do the ventriloquism in 'Chicago's' 'We Both Reached for the Gun'? | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 03:07 am EDT 08/06/24 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 03:01 am EDT 08/06/24 | |
| In reply to: re: In like Flynn: Does Billy usually do the ventriloquism in 'Chicago's' 'We Both Reached for the Gun'? - KingSpeed 06:24 pm EDT 08/04/24 | |
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| That's not how I see it. ''Chicago'' is subtitled ''A Musical Vaudeville.'' And John Kander and Fred Ebb designed each song to be a traditional vaudeville number or tribute to a certain vaudevillian. So ''We Both Reached for the Gun'' is the show's ventriloquism act, in which Billy Flynn, the lawyer, is literally the mouthpiece for Roxie, whom he treats as his dummy. Flynn is a master of ''Razzle Dazzle,'' so he's very successful at his job. As a chorus member notes: ''Notice how his lips never move ... almost.'' You judge how well a ventriloquism act is, by whether or not you can see the ventriloquist's lips move. Because Flynn has such a silver tongue, ideally you shouldn't see his lips move when he's playing the ventriloquist. That's how slick he is. If you could see a ventriloquist's lips moving all the time, he wouldn't be considered very good. (It's one of the show's tricks, like having a man play Mary Sunshine.) But ventriloquism is a talent that takes a lot of skill and practice. Not everyone can pull it off. Which is why I imagine I've never seen any other Billy do it. And why I'm so impressed by Choi Jae-Rim. No wonder he won rave reviews and a musical-theater award in South Korea for this vocal tour de force. | |
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| Next: | re: In like Flynn: Does Billy usually do the ventriloquism in 'Chicago's' 'We Both Reached for the Gun'? - AlanScott 04:01 am EDT 08/06/24 |
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