Chicago the Musical Tickets

One of the best-loved shows in musical history, Chicago began life in 1926 as a play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, which was picked up and developed into a musical by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, opening on Broadway in 1975. The musical is essentially a satire on corruption, justice and the cult of the 'celebrity criminal'. The play's original author, Watkins, was a Chicago journalist who covered the then-sensational trials of Beulah Annan (the model for Roxie Hart) and Belva Gaertner (Velma Kelly) for the separate murders of their lovers. Watkins' newspaper accounts of both trials caused quite a stir (possibly because Watkins was a woman, and her writing contained a certain sympathy for the accused), and she decided to write a play based on the hysteria and scandal surrounding the cases. Although the play was later made into a silent film by Cecil B DeMille, it wasn't until Fosse's wife read the play, that the idea for a musical version came about, although a (by then elderly) Watkins refused to sanction it, and it was only when she died in 1969, that the rights passed to her estate, who sold it to Fosse's production company.

The musical is set inside a women's prison, with occasional outside scenes recreating the crimes, and the subsequent trials. Velma Kelly is charged with the double murder of her husband and sister after finding them in bed together. The notoriety of her case has made her a celebrity in the prison, which is presided over by the corrupt guard 'Mama' Morton. Later on, Roxie Hart is also admitted into custody, for killing her lover, Fred Casely. Roxie had initially persuaded her naive husband, Amos, to take the blame, convincing him that Fred was a burglar she killed in self defence. But Amos discovers the truth and Roxie is arrested, her arrival in the prison stealing the limelight from self-obsessed Velma, who enjoys her status as Queen Bee. Billy Flynn, is the womanising, flamboyant lawyer charged with defending Velma and Roxie, although both women vie to make Billy promise his services exclusively to them. An expert at manipulating the media, Billy schools the women in how to play up to the tabloids in an effort to create public sympathy. But, as the story develops, both women realise that, despite the media interest surrounding them, they are really on their own when it comes to their destinies, as their own sensational crimes become old news and are replaced by others further down the line. The long list of now-familiar songs in the musical include “All That Jazz”, “Mr Cellophane”, “Razzle Dazzle” and “Cell Block Tango (He Had It Coming)”.

The original Broadway run of Chicago lasted 936 performances and starred Chita Rivera as the lead Velma, Gwen Verdon (Fosse's wife) as Roxie, and Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn. The West End production opened in 1979 and ran for 600 performances. Several revivals have taken place down the years, with the 1996 Broadway and 1997 London revivals perhaps the most famous, possibly because the idea of celebrities becoming criminals, was now a reality. Famous names to appear in the various productions around the world include Usher, Marti Pellow, David Hasseloff and John Barrowman as Billy Flynn; Denise Van Outen, Claire Sweeney, Brooke Shields and Ashlee Simpson as Roxie Hart; and Ute Lemper and Ruthie Henshall as Velma Kelly.

In 2002, another film version was made starring Catherine Zeta Jones (Velma), Renee Zellweger (Roxie) and Richard Gere (Billy), and won six Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress (Zeta Jones) and Best Picture. The stage version continues to tour throughout the world and several cast recordings are available on CD and DVD.