First performed: 1975, 46th Street Theatre, NY
First seen by me: 1997, Adelphi Theatre, London
Productions seen: one
Score: John Kander / Fred Ebb
Book: Fred Ebb / Bob Fosse
Plot: Showgirl Roxie Hart shoots her lover when he says it's over and when her husband Amos refuses to back up her alibi, she is charged with murder. In prison awaiting trial, Roxie realizes she is just one of the "merry murderesses" and, needing to get the public on her side, hires hot-shot - and corrupt - lawyer Billy Flynn who manipulates the press to say she's innocent. However Billy's other killer client Velma Kelly wants some fame and press headlines too...
Five memorable numbers: ALL THAT JAZZ, NOWADAYS, THE CELL BLOCK TANGO, WHEN VELMA TAKES THE STAND, CLASS
Back-to-back Kander & Ebb musicals but why does CHICAGO rate higher than CABARET? The 2002 film? Hell no, it left me very under-whelmed. The record-breaking revivals in the West End and Broadway? Not particularly, with it's grating stunt-casting of washed-up pop singers and tv personalities... No, CHICAGO is #6 on my list for Kander and Ebb's magnificent score, it's songs ripping through the show like Roxie's deadly bullets, as well as the hard-boiled book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. CHICAGO was Gwen Verdon's baby; in the 1960s she saw the musical potential in the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a Chicago Tribune reporter who based her two lead roles on two actual acquitted murderesses, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. CHICAGO had already been turned into two films: a 1927 silent and William Wellman's 1942 ROXIE HART. The latter is utterly fabulous - hard-boiled, funny, and cynical until the tacked-on happy ending - with fantastic performances from Ginger Rogers as Roxie and Adolphe Menjou as Billy Flynn. Verdon's problem was that Watkins had become a born-again Christian and refused to issue the rights as she felt her work glorified sin! But her death in 1969 gave Gwen her chance and she naturally turned to ex-husband and collaborator Bob Fosse to direct the Broadway premiere. CABARET composers John Kander and Fred Ebb were chosen for the score which was a risk as they were currently on a one-in one-out run: since CABARET their shows were THE HAPPY TIME (flop), ZORBA! (hit) and 70 GIRLS 70 (flop).
The 1920s suggested to Fosse giving the show a vaudeville theme, with the songs presented as out-front numbers and choreographed some of his most iconic numbers. Although estranged, Fosse and Verdon worked closely together during the rehearsal period although he became more and more demanding, seemingly trying to undermine her, no doubt due to her controlling stake in the production. Inspired casting matched Verdon's daffy Roxie with the hard-edged sass of Chita Rivera's Velma and they were both matched against the abrasive Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn. The original 1975 Broadway production faced obstacles: a so-so reception from the critics undermined the box-office and with business touch-and-go, Gwen Verdon had to pull out for a nodes operation when her voice failed her - it turned out she swallowed a feather during the show's finale. While she recuperated, Fosse hit on the idea of replacing her with Liza Minnelli in her first stage work since winning the Oscar for CABARET. She stayed with the show for over a month and the box office took off, although the situation grated on Verdon. She returned to the role and the show ended it's run after two years. In 1979 it opened at London's Cambridge Theatre with Jenny Logan, Antonia Ellis and Ben Cross which had a shorter run. No Tony Awards despite 11 nominations and no SWET Awards despite 3 nominations left the impression that CHICAGO was a failed show.
In early 1990 I was given a tape of the original Broadway cast and became obsessed with the glorious score and vocal performances of Verdon, Rivera, Orbach and Barney Martin as hapless Amos Hart; I remember one night playing it over and over again until the songs were memorized, and could not understand how the show was not revived. In December of that year, I got a further taste of it's greatness at an AIDS Benefit concert performance with the reuniting of Kander & Ebb's THE RINK stars Diane Langton as Roxie and Josephine Blake as Velma with Dave Willetts as Billy Flynn and Teddy Kempner as Amos Hart. But it was in 1996 that CHICAGO's time arrived. It was selected for the NY Encores! series of semi-staged versions of under-appreciated musicals. In the post-OJ Simpson America, CHICAGO was seen to be horribly prescient in it's portrayal of corrupt justice and showbiz and was an instant success. Producers Fran and Barry Weisler mounted a slightly revised version of Walter Bobbie's Encores! production, keeping the minimalist design which was mirrored in the stripped-down advertising design of black & white photographs with black & red text. The revival starred Fosse muse Ann Reinking as Roxie (who also choreographed the show in Fosse's style), Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, Joel Grey as Amos Hart and James Naughton as Billy Flynn. Winning 6 Tony Awards, the show is still running on Broadway where it is now the longest-ever running American musical on Broadway. I saw this revival in 1997 when it opened at the Adelphi and loved it; Ruthie Henshall as Roxie, Ute Lemper (inspired casting) as Velma, Henry Goodman as Billy Flynn and Nigel Planer as Amos set the show running in London, eventually closing nearly 15 years later. A further 21st Anniversary London production hung around longer than expected. I saw it a few times but tired of the Weissler shtick of casting under-performing pop stars and tv celebrities in certain roles however it did mean I got to see the delicious Susannah Fellows as Mama Morton, a nice touch as her father Don Fellows had played Amos in the 1979 London production. The stunt-castings of the revival did nothing to stop my love of the show which continues thanks to both the Broadway original and revival cast recordings - both of which capture the score's genius to perfection.
I cannot decide between these so you are getting them both: The glorious original pairing of Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera ripping up the HOT HONEY RAG on the Mike Wallace tv show in 1975...
...and the 1997 Tony Awards broadcast with Bebe Neuwirth singing ALL THAT JAZZ and joined by Ann Reinking for the HOT HONEY RAG. It's interesting to see where the choreography was tweaked for the revival.
The 1920s suggested to Fosse giving the show a vaudeville theme, with the songs presented as out-front numbers and choreographed some of his most iconic numbers. Although estranged, Fosse and Verdon worked closely together during the rehearsal period although he became more and more demanding, seemingly trying to undermine her, no doubt due to her controlling stake in the production. Inspired casting matched Verdon's daffy Roxie with the hard-edged sass of Chita Rivera's Velma and they were both matched against the abrasive Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn. The original 1975 Broadway production faced obstacles: a so-so reception from the critics undermined the box-office and with business touch-and-go, Gwen Verdon had to pull out for a nodes operation when her voice failed her - it turned out she swallowed a feather during the show's finale. While she recuperated, Fosse hit on the idea of replacing her with Liza Minnelli in her first stage work since winning the Oscar for CABARET. She stayed with the show for over a month and the box office took off, although the situation grated on Verdon. She returned to the role and the show ended it's run after two years. In 1979 it opened at London's Cambridge Theatre with Jenny Logan, Antonia Ellis and Ben Cross which had a shorter run. No Tony Awards despite 11 nominations and no SWET Awards despite 3 nominations left the impression that CHICAGO was a failed show.
In early 1990 I was given a tape of the original Broadway cast and became obsessed with the glorious score and vocal performances of Verdon, Rivera, Orbach and Barney Martin as hapless Amos Hart; I remember one night playing it over and over again until the songs were memorized, and could not understand how the show was not revived. In December of that year, I got a further taste of it's greatness at an AIDS Benefit concert performance with the reuniting of Kander & Ebb's THE RINK stars Diane Langton as Roxie and Josephine Blake as Velma with Dave Willetts as Billy Flynn and Teddy Kempner as Amos Hart. But it was in 1996 that CHICAGO's time arrived. It was selected for the NY Encores! series of semi-staged versions of under-appreciated musicals. In the post-OJ Simpson America, CHICAGO was seen to be horribly prescient in it's portrayal of corrupt justice and showbiz and was an instant success. Producers Fran and Barry Weisler mounted a slightly revised version of Walter Bobbie's Encores! production, keeping the minimalist design which was mirrored in the stripped-down advertising design of black & white photographs with black & red text. The revival starred Fosse muse Ann Reinking as Roxie (who also choreographed the show in Fosse's style), Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, Joel Grey as Amos Hart and James Naughton as Billy Flynn. Winning 6 Tony Awards, the show is still running on Broadway where it is now the longest-ever running American musical on Broadway. I saw this revival in 1997 when it opened at the Adelphi and loved it; Ruthie Henshall as Roxie, Ute Lemper (inspired casting) as Velma, Henry Goodman as Billy Flynn and Nigel Planer as Amos set the show running in London, eventually closing nearly 15 years later. A further 21st Anniversary London production hung around longer than expected. I saw it a few times but tired of the Weissler shtick of casting under-performing pop stars and tv celebrities in certain roles however it did mean I got to see the delicious Susannah Fellows as Mama Morton, a nice touch as her father Don Fellows had played Amos in the 1979 London production. The stunt-castings of the revival did nothing to stop my love of the show which continues thanks to both the Broadway original and revival cast recordings - both of which capture the score's genius to perfection.
I cannot decide between these so you are getting them both: The glorious original pairing of Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera ripping up the HOT HONEY RAG on the Mike Wallace tv show in 1975...
...and the 1997 Tony Awards broadcast with Bebe Neuwirth singing ALL THAT JAZZ and joined by Ann Reinking for the HOT HONEY RAG. It's interesting to see where the choreography was tweaked for the revival.
