Joey Guerra
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
When the razzle-dazzle revival of the John Kander/Fred Ebb/Bob Fosse musical Chicago took Broadway by storm in 1997, no one could have imagined that a pair of those dancing shoes would eventually wind up on the feet of a T-Bird. But that's exactly what happened when the inevitable touring productions of the show began to make their way across the country.
"It's great 'cause a lot of circles in my life came together," said Michael Tucci, who portrays hapless husband Amos Hart in the sexy musical that hits Jones Hall Tuesday.
Tucci was part of the original companies of the musicals Godspell and Grease, but he is perhaps best known as bumbling bad-boy Sonny in the 1978 movie-musical Grease. Couch potatoes may also recall Tucci's turn as Norman Briggs on Diagnosis Murder. For the versatile actor, a musical about lust, crime, murder and fame brings it all full circle.
"Barry and Fran Weissler, the producers (of Chicago), they gave me my first job. They had a children's theater in New York City for inner-city kids called the National Theatre Company, and I was like the understudy to all their WASP-y shows," Tucci joked. "They did Swiss Family Robinson and Huckleberry Finn, and Barry hired me 'cause I was funny. So all of a sudden this Jewish-Italian guy would go on and get laughs. So that was nice."
"And then Walter Bobbie, the director, I replaced him in Grease. He was the original Roger in Grease in 1973, and then I replaced him, and then 20 years later he casts me in Chicago. So those are two nice circles, and it's a great part. (Amos Hart) is just a nice guy."
For Tucci, being a part of Chicago was not an immediate flash of light. It was an aspiration that stayed with him for over two decades.
"I saw Barney Martin do it in 1975, and I wanted to do it very much, and he played him very honest, from the heart, and his name is Hart," Tucci said. "No schtickler, just for better or for worse, 'til death do us part."
Tucci's character of Amos Hart is about the only honest moment in Chicago, which follows the gleefully devious adventures of Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, Amos' adulterous, murderous wife. Through a scintillating mix of glitter, sweet talk and dance, the merry murderesses get away with just about everything - until someone with an even more horrific crime steals the spotlight. It's an edgy, exhilarating mix of good, evil and blinding fame.
"The world is so decadent, and you gotta laugh at it in order to get it better. It's just so frightening," Tucci admitted. "The legal system has nothing to do with justice, from O.J. Simpson to this whole Lewinsky stuff. Truth has nothing to do with it. It's just the fall of the Roman Empire, and I think that's why the show is so hot, because it is that, and the book is so fabulous for a musical. You don't have a moment to breathe."
For Tucci, who has seen his share of success on the stage, being a part of a commodity like Chicago is admittedly a different type of experience.
"It's pretty grand. I mean Grease was great ... but this is such a big musical, and I like the guy. I like the character. He's kinda close to me as a person," Tucci said.
Perhaps because of the closeness he feels to Amos Hart, Tucci decided to bring a different spin - the right one, in his opinion - to the quirky character, which won Joel Grey considerable acclaim during his run with the show.
"I play him very honest. No schtick. I love my wife, and there's always hope, and I'll make this work as long as I could, and I have to do it hopefully the rest of my life," Tucci said. "So I approached it that way, and the audience really buys it. I think it has to be played that way because there's so much dreck around them. So I think you've gotta be milquetoast, practically. The response has been very good for me."
Also good for Tucci was the recent successful re-release of Grease on the big-screen. Though he was on tour with Chicago most of the time, he did get a chance to chat with some of his co-stars and relive fond memories of that now-classic film.
"When we did the movie, (producer) Allan Carr really knew what he wanted to do. He had a concept, and he wanted to make it campy," Tucci said. "Then I saw who he was hiring - the Joan Blondells and the Sid Caesars and the Alice Ghostleys and the Eve Ardens. Then we saw Saturday Night Fever ... and John (Travolta) just popped off the screen."
While everything was seemingly in place, Tucci himself wasn't happy with the initial result.
"I saw a screening of Grease, and I hated it," Tucci said. "It was horrible. They added a new ending ... they made it very quick, and bop!"
The rest, as they say, was history, and Tucci is still reaping the rewards of it all, along with those of another memorable acting stint.
"It's interesting with this show 'cause like all the little kids and teenagers recognize me from Grease," he said. "We get a lot of the blue-haired group, too, to see Chicago and, you know, Diagnosis Murder. Norman Briggs. Everybody wants to marry Norman."
Though his biggest successes stem from being in front of a camera, Tucci confessed that he'll probably always be a theater baby.
"At this time I'm ready to get back into the theater. It's just easier," he said.
"I'm very comfortable on the stage. Television - my uncomfort kinda made me funny. I was so uncomfortable with the camera and the efficiency of it all. I got an ulcer on television. It was like crazy.
"With the theater, you learn it, you do it, and you enjoy it. Every night is different. I love this part. At this point in my life, to play Amos is just really nice, 'cause I like him. I like him a lot."
Chicago begins performances Tuesday at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana and runs through Aug. 16. Tickets are $43.50 and $47.50. Call (713) 629-3700 for tickets and showtimes.