Chicago The Musical




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Chicago The Musical Biography

Chicagoa, the musical based on the play ‘Chicago’ by Maurine Dallas Watkins, debuted in 1975. The musical was written by Bob Fosse and its music was scored by John Kander, while Fred Ebb authored the lyrics. A reporter for Chicago Tribune, Watkins had gone to cover the public trial proceedings of murderesses, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. Her coverage of the trial proceedings eventually unfurled into a beautiful artistic creation…the play Chicago was thus born.

Gwen Verdon, a renowned Tony Award winning American dancer and actress, read the play and discussed with her ex-husband Bob Fosse the possibility of converting it into a musical. Fosse later went to seek permission from Watkins to adapt her play but was repeatedly denied the favour. Watkin died in 1969 and Fosse was able to obtain the rights from her estate, and Chicago the musical was written. The musical makes the play's comparison between "justice" and "show-business". It has explicitly delineated the plot as a series of vaudeville acts.

Produced in 1975, the musical had the star Chita Rivera acting as Velma Kelly, Gwen Verdon acting as Roxie Hart, and Jerry Orbach taking the role of Billy Flynn. For a month in 1965, Liza Minnelli served as a surrogate for Gwen Verdon. The latter’s Broadway "comeback" stirred great publicity, and the musical soon became a crowd puller. After Verdon left the show, Fosse's girlfriend Ann Reinking came willingly to fit into that slot.

In 1996, the show was revived. Walter Bobbie was its director then and Ann Reinking, the choreographer, who adopted Bob Fosse’s style of direction. The star cast was Joel Grey, Bebe Neuwirth, James Naughton, and Ann Reinking. As of July 2005, the new version was being performed in different venues nationwide and also at the Adelphi Theatre (West End).

The movie Chicago released in 2002 had the story line of Chicago, the musical. Renée Zellweger appears as Roxie and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma, in the film. The vaudeville acts in the musical are depicted as fantasies of Roxie Hart in the movie. Some songs have been eliminated. Another important modification made is, changing the gender of the character Mary Sunshine from male to female. The film has bagged the Oscar for Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actress. The Best Supporting Actress Award went to Zeta-Jones.

However, the revived musical has swept 6 Tony Awards. They are Best Choreography award for Ann Reinking, Best Direction award for Walter Bobbie, Best actress award for Bebe Neuwirth, and Best Actor award for James Naughton. The musical also received the Tony’s for Best Revival of a Musical, while Ken Billington walked away with the award for Best Lighting.

The award winning revived version was a real hit on Broadway. To some, it symbolizes the revival of musical comedy, itself. The songs in the new musical are said to be cynical, the dancing… sinuous, and the humour… black. The story kicks off with murderous Velma Kelly, acted by Bebe Neuwirth. She goes about with Vaudeville act until she shoots and kills her co-star, her sister, manager, and her husband, spotting them all together in bed.

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