Chicago the Musical is a high-octave production playing for one week only at the Bristol Hippodrome and it is a sell-out.

It is sleazy, sexy, and funny.

Delivering the vibes of Annie and Bugsy Malone with a bit of Cell Block H thrown in, this is a physically powerful and polished song and dance musical set in the US city at a time of lawlessness and prohibition.

A real black comedy based on fact with some memorable characters whose wheelin’ and dealin’ evokes empathy not condemnation from those watching.

From the opening number All That Jazz this is standard of professionalism often lacking in a provincial theatre – it was bliss.

We loved it.

Created by musical theatre greats Kander and Ebb, and legendary choreographer Bob Fosse, Chicago is the longest running American musical on Broadway and in West End history. It has won every award that you can think of - Tony's, Olivier's and even a Grammy.

The new UK tour production boasts a cast of British stage and screen favourites: Faye Brookes (Kate Connor in Coronation Street), Brenda Edwards, Kevin Clifton (Strictly Come Dancing), Djalenga Scott, Joshua Lloyd and Jordan Lee Davies plus pop legend Sinatta Malone.

With a pedigree like that, it's no wonder that Chicago has sold out.

In 1920s gangland Chicago, Roxie Hart (Faye Brookes), is a fame-hungry, self-serving nightclub dancer and housewife who murders her lover but tells her downtrodden husband that he was a burglar.

Caught in a lie, arrested and thrown in jail, Hart meets other glamorous murderesses, including vaudeville star Velma Kelly (Djalenga Scott).

Hart hires shifty criminal lawyer Billy Flynn (Kevin Clifton) to ensure that she makes sensational headlines and wins the public's affections ahead of her jury trial.

It's a musical about women accused of murder.

But it's also about corruption, celebrity, the power of the media, the public's insatiable appetite for grisly stories... and all that jazz.

The iconic Kander and Ebb score includes some of musical theatre's best-known songs, including Razzle Dazzle, Cell Block Tango, and All That Jazz.

And the staging for this production of Chicago sees the band seated on the stage with the animated musical director Neil MacDonald and musicians cleverly integrated into the performance.

The static set and limited props – a few large feather fans – the mesmerising motion of the performers is what holds the attention of the audience as the ensemble moves with robotic precision across a narrow strip on the same stage which becomes in turn a nightclub, bedroom, jail and courtroom. Breathtaking.

The set is dark; the skimpy costumes are black and lacy and there are lots of bare thighs and legs which stretch to armpits all creating a scene of dirty dancing and wrong doings.

Djalenga Scott is an Amazon warrior who wants to wear sparkly tap shoes, and Faye Brookes, is a diminutive dynamite character with an inflated idea of self-worth, both are outstanding leading ladies whose good looks get them forgiven for their misdemeanours.

All-round star Kevin Clifton was great; he sings surprising well but doesn’t dance much in this show. However, his American accent is not always quite right.

Loved the inept portrayal of the tubby husband by Joshua Lloyd and the gender ambiguous role of reporter by Welsh opera singer Jordan Lee Davies.

Pawn your grandmother to try and get a ticket here https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/chicago/bristol-hippodrome/, it plays until Saturday, May 24, .

This show is now in my top five all-time greats along with Blood Brothers, Phantom of the Opera, Car Man and Rocky Horror.

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Carol Ann Deacon