by AMY BARRATT

Broadway touring companies may be a wonderful means of bringing the Great White Way to those of us who can almost never travel there, or they may be the cultural equivalent of a Big Mac. Montrealers can make up their own minds by going to see Chicago, le musical, currently playing in town under the auspices of Juste pour rire - the French-language side of Just for Laughs.

The Broadway revival of Chicago was created in 1996 with choreography by Ann Reinking "in the style of Bob Fosse" (Fosse wrote the book of, directed and choreographed the original 1975 Broadway production). No sooner did that production become a hit than duplicate casts were thrown into rehearsal to reproduce the experience elsewhere. Soon it was being translated into other languages so that theatregoers from Vienna to Buenos Aires could get a fix.

Juste pour rire is proud to have won the rights to the first French-language production. Franchise productions like this one are expected to meticulously recreate Reinking's dance steps and, stranger still, the direction of Walter Bobbie. Incidentally, if you've seen the recent movie version of Chicago, the musical numbers at least will seem very familiar.

The question is, can such mimicry ever rise to the level of art? How can an actor discover anything for himself when he is forced to move stage left while speaking a certain line because that's what the original guy did? The thing that makes theatre theatre - one director's vision created in a particular space with a particular group of artists - is missing in these recreations. But you'll notice that doesn't make me stay away. I'm curious enough about a Broadway hit like Chicago to check out a cousin twice-removed, especially since I get a freebie. Tickets are cheaper than Broadway but they ain't cheap.

Touring companies of Chicago have to adhere to certain standards. That means that, unlike many of the Broadway knock-offs we see here, it has live music. Indeed, musical director John Gilbert and a dozen musicians are front and centre, incorporated into the action of the show. Their sound is tight, but a little too bright and clean where we'd like them to get down and dirty.

Some of the dancers in the chorus do have the appropriate raunchiness, and all are technically up to the task. Indeed, nothing in the show can be faulted from a technical viewpoint. It's kind of like the finalists on American Idol: they have the chops but lack the soul.

All of the principals - including Anthony Kavanagh, Véronic Dicaire and Terra Ciccotosto - are solid, but no one stands out. Laurent Paquin comes closest with his comic turn as the cuckolded husband, Amos Hart ("Mr. Cellophane"). Kathleen Fortin can sing, but doesn't know what to do with the role of prison warden "Mama" Morton. Hearing familiar songs like "All That Jazz" and "Razzle-Dazzle-'em" ("Ensorcèle-les") sung in French is weird at first but becomes less so as the show goes on.

Ultimately, it's worth going to see Chicago because it's one of the best musicals ever written. But it would have been at least as interesting to see a local production conceived by local people.

Chicago, le musical, until Aug. 3 at Théâtre Maisonneuve (Place des Arts), Thurs–Fri 8pm; Sat 2pm & 8pm; Sun 2pm & 7pm, $59.95–$89.95, 790-1111 or www.admission.com

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