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Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it,
and the reaction will be passionate,
are more than just words in a song.
It's something they do every evening.

Since its 1975 Broadway debut, the musical "Chicago" has remained vibrant and up-to-date because of its ability to reinvent itself. From a traditional book musical to its 1996 Broadway revival as a quasi-concert performance to the breathtaking pizzazz of Rob Marshall's recent movie adaptation, John Kander and Fred Ebb's show maintains its appeal and ability to entertain.

The current national touring version that's playing at Heinz Hall as a presentation of Mellon Jazz is no exception.

It's wickedly funny, as slick as snake oil, as cynical as a wad of cash on the scales of justice and as irreverent and provocative as graffiti on a police cruiser.

And audiences here are not cheated out of a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of the song "Class," which was omitted from the film.

Set in the wide-open, amoral, jazz- and booze-crazed Chicago of the 1920s, the story concerns two unrepentant murderers, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, and their amoral and avaricious lawyer, Billy Flynn, who use the American system of justice, an eager and fawning press and Americans' fascination with celebrity to turn their trials into career opportunities.

This touring version, like the 1996 Broadway revival, puts the orchestra onstage on a steeply raked bandstand and reduces props and costuming to an absolute minimum. John Lee Beatty's elegant set is a literal black box inside a golden picture frame. Credit goes to Ken Billington's sharp, exact lighting for popping select characters out of the dark background as needed.

William Ivey Long costumes performers in a bare minimum of black stockings, black mesh shirts, tight black leather pants and black dance wear that bares midriffs and shows off legs and torsos to advantage. When not actively performing, members of the company sit on the sidelines watching the action.

The stark artifice of the staging supports the show's examination of Americans' willingness to allow deceit, posturing and the ability to rearrange the facts to overrule truth.

There's a few notable exceptions to this sexy, revealing dress code. Gregory Harrison's deliciously calculating Billy Flynn sports a tux throughout (Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson takes over the role beginning Saturday). And Amos, Roxie's schlemiel of a husband, played by Ray Bokhour, exudes a doughy haplessness in rumpled pants and T-shirt.

But it's the women who get -- and deserve -- all the attention. At Wednesday's performance, understudy Caitlin Carter filled in for Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, giving a seamless and polished performance as the brash chorus girl who's not above using impending motherhood as a key to freedom.

She was a good match for Brenda Braxton's more poised and calculating Velma Kelly, who finds herself being overshadowed by the rougher, less classy Roxie.

It's also hard not to root for Roz Ryan's Matron "Mama" Morton, who knows how easily justice can be bought and is only too happy to broker the transaction. Ryan has an impressive set of lungs that she employs to good advantage on "When You're Good to Mama" and in harmony with Braxton's Velma on "Class."

Choreographer Bob Fosse's original and signature dance moves live on through the work of Ann Reinking, who created the moves for the New York production in the distinctive Fosse style. Here, it's re-created by Gary Chryst for the tour. Ensemble numbers such as "Razzle Dazzle," "Hot Honey Rag" and "All That Jazz" retain the frenetic pacing, the impossibly high kicks and the visually arresting appeal as this latest group of dancers continues to maintain the crispness and precision of the work.

Although it lacks the scope, color and swirling camera work of Marshall's movie version, this live stage version of "Chicago" still delivers all that jazz audiences have come to expect.

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