<\/p>\n
As those \u201cmerry murderesses\u201d Velma and Roxy vie for attention and sympathy in the musical \u201cChicago,\u201d some audience members may root for one or the other.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t forget Mama Morton, the prison matron who unabashedly sings about her one-hand-washes-the-other attitude in her big number, \u201cWhen You\u2019re Good to Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see the corruption,\u201d said singer Illeana Kirven, who has the role of Mama in the touring show that Broadway in Scranton will bring to the Scranton Cultural Center for four shows March 6-8. \u201cBut you see that she\u2019s motherly. She loves the girls, and she\u2019s a businesswoman.\u201d<\/p>\n
The musical offers much to enjoy, Kirven said, pointing to spectacular music and dancing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of favorite moments,\u201d she said. \u201cI love seeing Roxy do her number, and I love watching Velma.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Amos, too,\u201d she said, mentioning Roxy\u2019s hapless husband. \u201cHe\u2019s so lovable and gullible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The storyline, set in a Cook County jail in the early 20th century, is popular beyond the United States, said Kirven, who traveled through South Korea with the show\u2019s 25th anniversary tour in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, my God, they loved it,\u201d she said of the Asian audiences.<\/p>\n
Kirven, who grew up in Texas, used to think she would someday become a nurse, not necessarily an entertainer. \u201cBut I always loved music,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cit just kind of happened\u201d that she found success in musical theatre.<\/p>\n
She never tires of traveling, she said, and likes to explore each city the tour visits.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery city, great and small, has something special about it,\u201d she said, adding she\u2019s looking forward to seeing what Scranton has to offer.<\/p>\n
While the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour won\u2019t be open for the season until April 1, Cooper\u2019s Seafood House \u2014 which was mentioned several times on the TV show \u201cThe Office\u201d \u2014 should be open for business. \u201cOh, we have to go there,\u201d Kirven said during a telephone interview, after a reporter mentioned the statues of pirates the restaurant has on display.<\/p>\n
Show times for \u201cChicago\u201d at the Scranton Cultural Center are 7:30 p.m. March 6; 2 p.m. March 7; 7:30 p.m. March 7 and 1 p.m. March 8.<\/p>\n
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