Swayze heats up San Diego tour of 'Chicago'

By: PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 24, 2003 9:25 AM PST ∞

Patrick Swayze was excited. No, make that ebullient. The words were tumbling out of the actor's mouth so fast, he could hardly stop to breathe.

Speaking by phone from New York's Ambassador Theatre ---- where he'd made his triumphant return to Broadway as shady lawyer Billy Flynn in the musical "Chicago" just the night before ---- Swayze was positively relishing the reigniting of his career.

Swayze was brought in unannounced Dec. 15 to re-energize the Broadway production of "Chicago." Then he'll open a week on the road (beginning Dec. 30 in San Diego) before heading to Los Angeles to launch the L.A. production of "Chicago" at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Although only officially committed to "Chicago" for six weeks, Swayze's rapturous reception in New York has producers rethinking whether to bring him back to New York for an extended run.

Being back on top is a delight for Swayze, who burst onto the scene in the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing," then had further success with films such as "Ghost," "Point Break" and "City of Joy" (and was People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991), before dropping out of sight in the mid-1990s. While most actors would cringe at the word "comeback," the 51-year-old Houston native makes no bones about it.

"I can already hear the media jumping on the bandwagon ... 'Crazy Swayze is back!' But that's OK. I love it. I've been back so many times, it's fun to ride that roller-coaster again," he said. "I'm having a blast with my career again."

Although better known as a movie actor (albeit with exceptional dance and martial arts moves), Swayze said he "came out of the womb doing musical theater." The son of film choreographer Patsy Swayze, Patrick Swayze studied ballet at the Joffrey Ballet School and was on Broadway ("Grease," "The Music Man") for several years before making his film debut in 1979's "Skatetown U.S.A." He rose to stratospheric film success in the '80s and early '90s, then practically disappeared after a run of film duds in the mid-'90s.

During those years, Swayze kept busy: working on two albums; producing and co-starring in a movie with his dancer wife of 28 years, Lisa Niemi; and filming an action-packed remake of "King's Solomon's Mines" in Africa (all four set for release next year). He was also signed to take over the lead in Broadway's "Nine" this summer, but the timing didn't work out, and he was instead offered the role of Billy Flynn in "Chicago." Swayze calls it the chance of a lifetime.

"This is a Broadway entrance to die for," he said. "It was like being shot out of a cannon. I've done every musical ever written, but Billy is a plum part and I feel so lucky to be coming back to Broadway in it."

As Richard Gere proved in the movie version of "Chicago," the role of Billy ---- a self-absorbed attorney who never lets truth and justice get in the way of collecting his paycheck ---- doesn't require a gifted singer/dancer. So when Swayze signed on, show choreographer Anne Reinking reworked Bob Fosse's original dance scenes to highlight his talents.

"We've rechoreographed it for a Billy who can sing and dance. We wanted to transform Billy into this Svengali, manipulative, conjuring smoke-and-mirrors kind of ringmaster at the center of the vaudeville," Swayze said. "I'm trying to find the deeper subtext within Billy. He's sleazy, but he loves what he does, and he'll kill you if he gets the chance."

The 1975 Kander & Ebb musical (which was revived to great acclaim in 1996) is based on the real-life crime-and-punishment stories of 1920s-era women murderers in Chicago. In the musical, Billy is hired to defend two notorious murderesses ---- Roxie Hart (a wannabe star who kills her lover) and Velma Kelly (a showgirl who kills her husband and sister). Broadway vet Bianca Marroquin plays Roxie in the San Diego production, and Velma Kelly will be played by Reva Rice, who has been playing Velma on Broadway since October.

Rice calls the role of Velma (for which Catherine Zeta-Jones won an Oscar last March) one of the juiciest she's ever played.

"I'd auditioned for the part of Velma three times and had my eye on it for years before I was able to finally come and do it this fall," said Rice, who lives in Las Vegas when she's not in New York or on the road. "For me, 'Chicago' is such a well-done musical piece. It really is the epitome of musical theater, and Velma is a triple-threat role where I can do my thing ---- dancing, singing and acting. It's rare that I can find material on Broadway that allows me to utilize all my talents."

Another of Rice's talents is roller-skating, which she put to good use originating the role of Pearl in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Starlight Express," a musical in which she spent seven years (on Broadway, in London, in Las Vegas and in the national tour). She led the first national tour of "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and starred in the Broadway production and tour of "Fosse." Now she's committed to "Chicago" through May and is developing her own musical about legendary jazz-age nightclub singer Josephine Baker.

For now, though, she's committed to "Chicago" and excited at the energy Swayze is bringing to the show.

"He definitely is bringing something new to the part. I'm enjoying the new angle of dancing he's bringing to the part," she said.

Swayze said he was still fine-tuning his portrayal of Billy, having had just six weeks to rehearse the part, but he promises to have it "dialed in tight" by the time he arrives in San Diego on Tuesday.

"I'm working out the kinks now and by San Diego, my Billy will be cooking."

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