Look sharp, ‘Chicago’

By John Benson

CLEVELAND — It was nearly 15 years ago when hair and make-up specialist Scott Mortimer made the jump from “Beauty School Dropout” to “All That Jazz.” Even after all of that time, the backstage theater veteran has no regrets joining “Chicago,” which returns to Cleveland Tuesday through Jan. 24 at the Palace Theatre.

“I’ve done it this long because it’s always been one of my favorite shows,” said Mortimer, calling from Naples, Fla. “I love the music and everything about it. I’ve been working with this production company for 20 years and when it came up, I was doing ‘Grease’ on Broadway. I instantly said I wanted to do ‘Chicago’ and they said OK. So I loved doing it, and I still love doing it to this day.”

The Tony Award production of “Chicago,” which made its revival in 1996, revolves around murder, greed, corruption, violence and sex. Set in the Windy City during the 1920s, the musical is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who maliciously murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer, Billy Flynn, to transform her crime into a barrage of sensational headlines.

So that’s the vibe Mortimer has to work with on a nightly basis. In a nutshell, he runs his own traveling hair and make-up salon, which is responsible for the entire look of the cast. In fact, the females in the production have their own daily hair appointment, while each is basically responsible for her own make-up application. However, that doesn’t mean Mortimer doesn’t offer opinions or remind the cast of the popular musical’s intended look.

“Occasionally I’ll go out after the show goes up where I’m checking out people, because after doing it for so long, things start to morph into something else or their makeup starts to change,” Mortimer said “I have to remind them that this is what we decided they should look like and that’s the way it has to stay. So you have to monitor that and make sure it stays the same.”

He added, “For this particular show, it’s not really geared toward a certain period. They wanted it to look sort of sleek and sexy and hot. So each person in the show has a certain look and hairstyle to go with that costume. Roxy, she’s kind of quirky, kind of kooky. Velma is more laidback and cool. She’s very sleek and relaxed and calculating. And then Billy Flynn is kind of sly, sleek and sophisticated but has sliminess underneath there.”

Even though he’s seen “Chicago” thousands of times in his life, Mortimer admits he understands why crowds keep flocking back to this national tour.

“You can’t beat the show,” Mortimer said. “The music is fantastic. The story is fantastic. The dancing is unbelievable. It’s a real song-and-dance musical, and you don’t see a lot of those anymore. It’s music that you love, and you’ll love to hear it again. We’ve had people see it 15, 20, 30 times. It’s one of those shows that people love and they keep coming back.”