Chicago (musical)

Chicago is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Chicago in the Jazz Age, the musical is based on the 1926 play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins, then a journalist covering the city's courthouse beat. A satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice, the plot follows felons who manipulate their stories to develop celebrity status.

The original Broadway production opened in June 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 936 performances, closing in August 1977. Fosse directed and choreographed the original production, and his style is strongly identified with the show. The original West End production opened in 1979, running for 600 performances.

The ongoing 1996 revival of Chicago is the longest-running show currently on Broadway, holding the record as the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. The lengthy run ranks second only to The Phantom of the Opera, having surpassed Cats on November 23, 2014, upon its 7,486th performance. The 1997 West End revival became the longest-running American musical in West End history. Chicago has been staged in numerous productions around the world, and has toured extensively in the United States and United Kingdom. The musical's 2002 film adaptation won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

History

The musical Chicago is based on a play of the same name by reporter and playwright Maurine Dallas Watkins, who was assigned to cover the 1924 trials of accused murderers Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the Chicago Tribune. In the early 1920s, Chicago's press and public became riveted by the subject of homicides committed by women. Several high-profile cases arose, which generally involved women killing their lovers or husbands. These cases were tried against a backdrop of changing views of women in the Jazz Age, and a long string of acquittals by Cook County juries of female murderers (juries at the time were all male, and convicted murderers generally faced death by hanging). A lore arose that, in Chicago, feminine or attractive women could not be convicted. The Chicago Tribune generally favored the prosecution's case, while still presenting the details of these women's lives. Its rivals at the Hearst papers were more pro-defendant, and employed what were derisively called "sob-sisters" – women reporters who focused on the plight, attractiveness, redemption, or grace of the female defendants. Regardless of stance, the press covered several of these women as celebrities.

Annan, the model for the character of Southern transplant Roxie Hart, was 23 when she was accused of the April 3, 1924 murder of Harry Kalsted (or Kalstedt), who served as the basis for the Fred Casely character. The Tribune reported that Annan played the foxtrot record Hula Lou over and over for two hours before calling her husband to say she killed a man who "tried to make love to her". Her husband Albert Annan inspired the character Amos Hart. Albert was an auto mechanic who bankrupted himself to defend his wife, only for her to publicly dump him the day after she was acquitted. Velma Kelly is based on Gaertner, who was a cabaret singer and society divorcée. The body of Walter Law was discovered slumped over the steering wheel of Gaertner's abandoned car on March 12, 1924. Two police officers testified that they had seen a woman getting into the car and shortly thereafter heard gunshots. A bottle of gin and an automatic pistol were found on the floor of the car. Lawyers William Scott Stewart and W. W. O'Brien were models for a composite character in Chicago, Billy Flynn. Just days apart, separate juries at the Criminal Courts building acquitted both women.

Watkins' sensational columns documenting these trials proved so popular that she wrote a play based on them. The show received both good box-office sales and newspaper notices and was mounted on Broadway in 1926, running 172 performances. Cecil B. DeMille produced a silent film version, Chicago (1927), starring former Mack Sennett bathing beauty Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart. It was later remade as Roxie Hart (1942) starring Ginger Rogers, but in this version, Roxie was accused of murder without having really committed it, due to content restrictions on Hollywood films of the era.

In the 1960s, Gwen Verdon read the play and asked her husband, Bob Fosse, about the possibility of creating a musical adaptation. Fosse approached playwright Watkins numerous times to buy the rights, but she repeatedly declined; historian Kevin Boyd Grubb has speculated that, by this point, Watkins may have regretted Annan and Gaertner's acquittals, and felt that her treatment of them should not be glamorized.

Musical numbers

;1975 Original Broadway Production

"Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville"

;Act 1

"Overture" – Orchestra
"All That Jazz" – Velma Kelly and Company
"Funny Honey" – Roxie Hart
"Cell Block Tango" – Velma and the Murderesses
"When You're Good to Mama" – Mama Morton
"Tap Dance" – Roxie, Amos, and Boys
"All I Care About" – Billy Flynn and the Girls
"A Little Bit of Good" – Mary Sunshine
"We Both Reached for the Gun" – Billy, Roxie, Mary Sunshine
"Roxie" – Roxie and Boys
"I Can't Do It Alone" – Velma
"Chicago After Midnight" – Orchestra
"My Own Best Friend" – Roxie and Velma

;Act 2

"I Know a Girl" – Velma
"Me and My Baby" – Roxie and Company
"Mister Cellophane" – Amos Hart
"When Velma Takes the Stand" – Velma and Boys
"Razzle Dazzle" – Billy and Company
"Class" – Velma and Morton
"Nowadays" – Roxie
Finale: "Nowadays"/"R.S.V.P"/"Keep It Hot" – Roxie and Velma †

;1996 Revival Production

"Chicago: The Musical"

;Act 1

"Overture" – Orchestra
"All That Jazz" – Velma and Company
"Funny Honey" – Roxie
"Cell Block Tango" – Velma and the Murderesses
"When You're Good to Mama" – Mama Morton
"Tap Dance" – Roxie, Amos, and Boys
"All I Care About" – Billy Flynn and Girls
"A Little Bit of Good" – Mary Sunshine
"We Both Reached for the Gun" – Billy, Roxie, Mary and the Reporters
"Roxie" – Roxie and Boys
"I Can't Do It Alone" – Velma
"I Can't Do It Alone (Reprise)" – Velma
"My Own Best Friend" – Roxie and Velma
"Finale Act I: All That Jazz (Reprise)" – Velma

;Act 2

"Entr'acte" – Orchestra
"I Know a Girl" – Velma
"Me and My Baby" – Roxie and Company
"Mister Cellophane" – Amos
"When Velma Takes the Stand" – Velma and Boys
"Razzle Dazzle" – Billy and Company
"Class" – Velma and Mama Morton
"Nowadays" - Velma and Roxie
"Hot Honey Rag" – Orchestra
"Finale Act II: All That Jazz (Reprise)" – Company

† In the 1975 Original Broadway Production and its Playbill, there are a few contradicting song lists. Songs such as "R.S.V.P" and "Keep It Hot" which were instrumental pieces in the "Finale" were removed from the licensable music, but were included in original production and script. Other songs such as "Ten Percent" sung by a deleted character who was Velma's agent, and "No" sung by Roxie and Boys were cut soon into the production and only appear on demo recordings and in the original Playbill, but are not in the original script. Other cut songs from the show were "Rose Colored Glasses" a different version of "We Both Reached for the Gun", "Pansy Eyes", and "Loopin' the Loop".

Cast and characters

Original casts

Source for West End: overthefootlights.co.uk

Principal characters (defined as having at least one featured musical number) and original performers of notable productions:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:90%;"

! rowspan="2" scope="col" | Character

! rowspan="2" scope="col" class="unsortable" | Description

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Broadway

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | West End

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Australia

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Broadway

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | West End

!1975

!1979

!1981

!1996

!1997

! scope="row"| Roxie Hart

| An aspiring vaudevillian and murderess who kills her paramour after a spat and is sent to jail. Mezzo-soprano

| Gwen Verdon

| Antonia Ellis

| Nancye Hayes

| Ann Reinking

| Ruthie Henshall

! scope="row"| Velma Kelly

| A vaudevillian and murderess who is on trial for killing her cheating husband and sister. She is represented by Billy Flynn and competes with Roxie Hart for him. Alto

| Chita Rivera

| Jenny Logan

| Geraldine Turner

| Bebe Neuwirth

| Ute Lemper

! scope="row"| Billy Flynn

| Velma and Roxie's lawyer who has a perfect track record and makes celebrities of his clients to win sympathy and sway public opinion. Baritone

| Jerry Orbach

| Ben Cross

| Terence Donovan

| James Naughton

| Henry Goodman

! scope="row"| Amos Hart

| Roxie's faithful and good-natured but simple husband whom nobody pays attention to. He spends most of the show trying to make Roxie take interest in him or even just acknowledge his existence. Baritone

| Barney Martin

| Don Fellows

| George Spartels

| Joel Grey

| Nigel Planer

! scope="row"| Matron "Mama" Morton

| The matron of the Cook County Jail. Grants the inmates favors in exchange for bribes. Alto

| Mary McCarty

| Hope Jackman

| Judi Connelli

| Marcia Lewis

| Meg Johnson

! scope="row"| Mary Sunshine

| The sob sister journalist who follows the trials of both Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly. In most productions, Mary Sunshine is revealed to be male at the end of the show. Countertenor

| Michael O'Haughey (credited as "M. O'Haughey")

| Gary Lyons

| J.P. Webster

| David Sabella-Mills

| Charles Shirvell

Notable replacements

Broadway (1975–1977)

Roxie Hart: Liza Minnelli, Lenora Nemetz, Ann Reinking
Velma Kelly: Lenora Nemetz
Amos Hart: Rex Everhart
Mama Morton: Alaina Reed Hall

Broadway (1996–)

Roxie Hart: Pamela Anderson, Mel B, Kate Baldwin, Christie Brinkley, Charlotte d'Amboise, Paige Davis, Kara DioGuardi, Sandy Duncan, Veronica Dunne, Charlotte Kate Fox, Robin Givens, Melanie Griffith, Melora Hardin, Samantha Harris, Marilu Henner, Ruthie Henshall, Olivia Holt, Erika Jayne, Bonnie Langford, Whitney Leavitt, Ariana Madix, Shiri Maimon, Bianca Marroquín, Alyssa Milano, Gretchen Mol, Jennifer Nettles, Bebe Neuwirth, Petra Nielsen, Brandy Norwood, Desi Oakley, Lisa Rinna, Chita Rivera, Krysta Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, Brooke Shields, Ashlee Simpson, Mira Sorvino, Amy Spanger, Denise van Outen, Ana Villafañe, Nana Visitor, Michelle Williams, Rumer Willis, Rita Wilson, Ryoko Yonekura, Karen Ziemba
Velma Kelly: Pia Douwes, Deidre Goodwin, Lana Gordon, Jasmine Guy, Mýa Harrison, Ruthie Henshall, Carly Hughes, Robyn Hurder, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Sharon Lawrence, Ute Lemper, Vicki Lewis, Bianca Marroquín, Luba Mason, Anna Montanaro, Caroline O'Connor, Reva Rice, Amra-Faye Wright, Leigh Zimmerman
Billy Flynn: Pasquale Aleardi, Obba Babatundé, Mark Ballas, Brent Barrett, Hinton Battle, Erich Bergen, Wayne Brady, Jaime Camil, Philip Casnoff, Maxwell Caulfield, Chuck Cooper, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jason Danieley, Taye Diggs, Brandon Victor Dixon, Colman Domingo, John Dossett, Christopher Fitzgerald, Alexander Gemignani, Eddie George, Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis Gossett Jr., Michael C. Hall, Todrick Hall, George Hamilton, Harry Hamlin, Gregory Harrison, Tom Hewitt, James Monroe Iglehart, Gregory Jbara, James T. Lane, Joey Lawrence, Huey Lewis, Norm Lewis, Hal Linden, Peter Lockyer, Jeff McCarthy, Christopher McDonald, Brian McKnight, Tam Mutu, Paul Alexander Nolan, John O'Hurley, Adam Pascal, Marti Pellow, Clarke Peters, Ron Raines, Kevin Richardson, John Schneider, Matthew Settle, Chaz Lamar Shepherd, Christopher Sieber, Jerry Springer, Patrick Swayze, Paulo Szot, Alan Thicke, Robert Urich, Usher, Ben Vereen, Max von Essen, Nik Walker, Tom Wopat, Tony Yazbeck, Billy Zane, Adrian Zmed, Marco Zunino
Amos Hart: Rob Bartlett, Kevin Carolan, Kevin Chamberlin, Cory English, Christopher Fitzgerald, James T. Lane, Tom McGowan, Isaac Mizrahi, Vincent Pastore, Ernie Sabella, Chris Sullivan, Paul C. Vogt
Mama Morton: Kandi Burruss, B.J. Crosby, Charity Angél Dawson, Lea DeLaria, Larisa Dolina, Debbie Gravitte, Jennifer Holliday, Cady Huffman, Patti LaBelle, NeNe Leakes, Adriane Lenox, Debra Monk, Jinkx Monsoon, Anne L. Nathan, Bebe Neuwirth, Alex Newell, Orfeh, Michele Pawk, Christine Pedi, Roz Ryan, Camille Saviola, Valerie Simpson, Angie Stone, Mary Testa, Aida Turturro, Sofía Vergara, Lillias White, Terri White, Wendy Williams, Chandra Wilson, Carol Woods
Mary Sunshine: Daniel Levine, Max von Essen

West End revival (1997–2012)

Roxie Hart: Tina Arena, Emma Barton, Christie Brinkley, Anita Louise Combe, Jennifer Ellison, America Ferrera, Maria Friedman, Josefina Gabrielle, Jill Halfpenny, Linzi Hateley, Bonnie Langford, Aoife Mulholland, Petra Nielsen, Chita Rivera, Frances Ruffelle, Suzanne Shaw, Brooke Shields, Ashlee Simpson, Claire Sweeney, Sally Ann Triplett, Denise van Outen, Michelle Williams
Velma Kelly: Anna-Jane Casey, Anita Louise Combe, Pia Douwes, Ruthie Henshall, Nicola Hughes, Debbie Kurup, Rachel McDowall, Anna Montanaro, Valarie Pettiford, Leigh Zimmerman
Billy Flynn: Luca Barbareschi, John Barrowman, David Bedella, Darius Campbell, Maxwell Caulfield, Robin Cousins, Juan Pablo Di Pace, John Diedrich, Sacha Distel, Michael French, Matthew Goodgame, Michael Greco, Tony Hadley, David Hasselhoff, Raza Jaffrey, Duncan James, Ian Kelsey, Craig McLachlan, Jimmy Osmond, Marti Pellow, Clarke Peters, Kevin Richardson, Rolf Saxon, Michael Siberry, Jerry Springer, Jonathan Wilkes, Gary Wilmot
Amos Hart: Justin Lee Collins, Peter Davison, Les Dennis, James Doherty, Joel Grey, Gareth Hale, Kevin Kennedy, George Layton, Victor McGuire, Dale Meeks, Norman Pace, Clive Rowe
Mama Morton: Lynda Carter, Sharon D. Clarke, Anita Dobson, Brenda Edwards, Diane Langton, Alison Moyet, Kelly Osbourne, Gaby Roslin
Mary Sunshine: Cory English, Nathan Kiley

Musical and staging style

According to Fred Ebb, he wrote the book in a vaudeville style because "the characters were performers. Every musical moment in the show was loosely modeled on someone else: Roxie was Helen Morgan, Velma was Texas Guinan, Billy Flynn was Ted Lewis, Mama Morton was Sophie Tucker." Composer John Kander elaborates that the reason the show was called a vaudeville "is because many of the songs we wrote are related to specific performers like those you mentioned, and Eddie Cantor and Bert Williams as well."

It was through the initial production, and not the writing, that many of the "traditional" Chicago staging conventions were developed. The double snap in "Razzle Dazzle" was added as an afterthought at the suggestion of Ebb to Kander. Kander recalled: