Kansas native Brent Barrett returns to Wichita for ‘Chicago’

Brent Barrett is curious about whether Century II Concert Hall will seem a little smaller to him while appearing in “Chicago” Tuesday through Thursday as the final show this season from Theater League.

“The last time I was there, I was a 19-year-old from Quinter, Kansas, in the summer resident company of Music Theatre Wichita. It was 1977. I remember being in ‘Where’s Charley?’ with John Holly (then MTW chief) and Carveth Osterhaus (noted guest director from Oklahoma City University),” said Barrett, who studied at Fort Hays State, then graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

That summer season also included “Camelot,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Roar of the Greasepaint” and “South Pacific.”

“I have very fond memories of that summer,” he said. “I wonder if Century II will seem smaller now.”

In any case, Barrett hopes his return to Wichita in the role of slick, charming, conniving and utterly shameless lawyer Billy Flynn will be “a very social time” off stage. He plans to visit with his mom and sister from Hays and cousins driving in to see the show. He also plans to get together with opera star Samuel Ramey, currently on the faculty at Wichita State.

“I’ve known Sam since I was 5 years old. The last time I saw him was when we found ourselves in Barcelona (Spain) at the same time a few years ago. He was in an opera and I was doing a concert. He’s been such an inspiration,” said Barrett, a Broadway veteran from “West Side Story” to “Brigadoon” to “Annie Get Your Gun” opposite Reba McEntire. He was nominated for an Olivier Award (equivalent of a Tony) in London for his role as Petruchio in “Kiss Me Kate.” Also a concert soloist and recording artist, he’s been in TV’s “All My Children” and was Brian, the foppish set designer, in the 2005 movie version of Mel Brooks’ wacky musical “The Producers.”

“Chicago” was adapted by composer John Kander (a Kansas City, Mo., native) and lyricist Fred Ebb from a sensationalistic 1926 play based on actual Windy City prohibition-era crime stories. It hit Broadway in 1975 with such showstoppers as the raunchy “Cell Block Tango,” the frantically hilarious “We Both Reached for the Gun,” the bitingly satirical “Razzle Dazzle,” the poignant “Mr. Cellophane” and, of course, the cornerstone “All That Jazz.” It also dazzled with the strutting, stylistically sexy and now very distinctive “jazz hands” choreography by Bob Fosse.

While the original production lost all 12 of its Tony nominations to the landmark “A Chorus Line,” the 1996 revival won six – including best revival – and has become the longest-running revival in Broadway history. The 2002 movie version won Best Picture among its six Oscars.

Now based in Las Vegas, where he’s played the title role in “Phantom of the Opera Las Vegas Spectacular,” Barrett has played Billy Flynn for 16 years, on and off.

“I think of Billy as a cross between a televangelist and a used car salesman. He’s very slick. He’s always in control. He always believes emphatically what he’s saying – at that moment. Of course, he may change just like that. He’s sincerely insincere,” Barrett said. “You could call it ‘situational ethics’ except that I don’t think Billy has any ethics.”

Barrett said he enjoys playing Billy because he’s so different from himself.

“I don’t know that I would like him in real life. I don’t think we could have any sort of relationship. But he’s totally fun to play because he’s totally in charge, which is so rare in life. He’s the character who changes the least over the course of the show because he doesn’t believe he needs to change. The Billy you see at the beginning is the Billy you get at the end,” Barrett said. “You may not like it, but that’s how he is. I don’t judge.”

Starring with Barrett in “Chicago” are Dylis Croman as the hopelessly romantic Roxie Hart, a mousy housewife who is jailed for shooting her cheating boyfriend, and Terra C. MacLeod as sexy, sultry Velma Kelly, who offs her vaudeville dance partner/sister in a jealous rage over some guy.

“Roxie Hart is a very playful character, very endearing and childlike in her optimism. She’s a glass-half-full kind of girl. That’s what I can identify with. I always try to find the positive in any situation,” said Croman, a Dallas native who likes to get the pronunciation of her first name out of the way first thing – Dylis: Dye-LEASE. “Think of it like Diane crossed with Lisa, but shorter.”

A dancer since the age of 3 (“I was born to dance. I came out of the womb kicking”), Croman is a Broadway veteran of such musicals as “A Chorus Line,” “Sweet Charity,” “Fosse,” “Oklahoma!” and the 1996 “Chicago” revival. She’s played all of “Chicago’s” female roles except for Velma (“It’s a great role, but I just never got the opportunity”). She’s been Roxie exclusively for about seven years now.

“Playing Roxie is a lot of fun. She is a go-getter. She didn’t have the spotlight growing up. Now she has the chance to show the world who she is – even if the fame is fleeting because everybody’s always looking for the next new thing,” Croman said.

“I feed off the energy of the audience. It’s such a blessing to share a song and dance and story with perfect strangers to see what we create together,” Croman said. “At the end, Roxie sings a song called ‘Nowadays’ that suits that perfectly. She has come full circle, she’s gone through every emotion, she’s had to grow up. That song is my favorite moment in the show.”

A native of Montreal, Terra MacLeod created the role of Velma in Quebec in the first French-language version of “Chicago” and then took the show to Paris, where she received a Moliere Award nomination. Known internationally for stage (“Blood Brothers,” “Cats”), film and TV (“The Reagans,” “Stephen King’s Dead Zone”), she’s been on Broadway as uber-receptionist Ulla in “The Producers,” Lady of the Lake in “Spamalot” and, of course, Velma in “Chicago,” moving from Broadway to this tour.

“I’ve been doing Velma for 11 years, give or take,” MacLeod said. “I like her because she’s a real survivor. As a cabaret performer in the 1920s, she came from an environment where she had to have a certain toughness, a certain resilience. Most people would describe her as bitchy, but I think of her as a broad who stands up for herself. She has a lot of heart.”

MacLeod said she identifies with Velma’s “kookiness” and her vulnerability.

“I see a lot of her in me – except for that blackout and murder thing,” she said with a laugh. “I think of myself as pretty kooky. And while Velma has a tough exterior, you see her vulnerability in her quiet moments alone. I’m more shy than people think when they see me on stage. I love to perform and have no problem appearing before 5,000 strangers. But if I know someone in the audience, I get stage fright. I can’t go to a karaoke bar or sing at a party. It’s too nerve-wracking.”

MacLeod said that while “Chicago” is set in the 1920s, its basic message about overnight celebrity and fleeting fame is relevant today.

“If you do something only for the fame, that’s the wrong reason. It never feels good,” she said. “The message is clear: Don’t believe the hype. What matters is your core.”

This story was originally published March 26, 2015 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Kansas native Brent Barrett returns to Wichita for ‘Chicago’."