Chicago the Musical: It’s time for jazz hands!
If you are a crazy musical maniac, then you will love Chicago the Musical! It offers everything a theater fan could ask for, from great songs to impressive routines and impressive costumes (so to speak); there is something for everyone! This musical was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, who wrote the music and lyrics respectively, perhaps most famous for their musical Cabaret (1966), which was made into a classic film starring Liza Minelli.
The Chicago story is based on satire and corruption in the American criminal justice system, focusing on the phenomenon of the criminal celebrity. Reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins was a reporter who worked for the Chicago Tribune and later wrote a play about her experiences there. Originally choreographed by legend Bob Fosse, the musical made its Broadway debut on June 3, 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre.
The musical stars Velma Kelly, a vaudeville performer and assassin who kills her ex-boyfriend and his sister after catching them in a compromising situation. She is subsequently imprisoned for her crime of passion. Meanwhile, Roxie Hart, another vaudeville villain, kills her lover Fred Casely. Hart convinces her gullible husband Amos to take the blame for her, but the lie is short-lived and Roxie is also imprisoned. Roxie moves into the Cook County Jail and meets a host of other killers, including Velma, who is ruled by the matron “Mama” Morton.
Lawyer Billy Flynn arrives on the scene to defend Velma, but the manipulative Roxie manages to steal it from him, sparking a rivalry between the two women. Billy walks into the Chicago office and stands up for Roxie, creating a story for her which he tells tabloid journalist Mary Sunshine. Things start to change for Roxie, while Velma is left seeing things. Roxie decides that pregnancy is the only way to keep the public’s interest in her celebrity. Amos returns and claims that he is the father of the unborn baby. Meanwhile, Velma plans to stunt her for the trial, while Roxie and Billy come to a head and she fires him as her lawyer. New crimes begin to take place that take the heat out of the locked up ladies. Roxie is cleared of her crime in court thanks to Billy, but the press is at new pastures and her release is forgotten. Roxie admits to Amos that she was never a baby, causing him to finally leave her. Velma and Roxie team up to make a new act, always pursuing her idea of fame.
