All That Jazz: Story of Chicago the Musical How many people saw Chicago at Pres? Well, the show is actually the second longest running show on Broadway at this moment. And it’s no surprise. The show has captivated the audience, with its themes of murder, and corruption. Every one loves the bad girls Roxie and Velma, and can’t help but root for them, on their journey to become hotshot vaudeville stars,from formerly committing a crime. Let us see how this glamorous baddies scored on the broadway stage. (slide) Chicago is a musical written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with the choreography done by Bob Fosse. It is based off the 1926 play of the same name. The play was about the real life criminals Beulah May Annan, who was the inspiration for Roxie, and Belva Gaertner, the inspiration for Velma. In 1942, there was a film called Roxie Hart, on TV. The actress Gwen Verdon, who later played Roxie Hart saw this show and wanted to it to adapt it to the musical stage. After the creator of the original play died, Verdon obtained the rights to adapt it. She convinced the team of Fosse, Kander, and Ebb to make the play into the musical we know today. …show more content…
It was nominated for 11 Tonys but was overshadowed by another hit musical, A Chorus Line. It only ran for 936 performances, before it was shut down in 1977. It was later reopened as Chicago: The Musical. The show was choreographed by Ann Reinking, Fosse’s wife. She also played the role of Roxie. This new cast also included Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, and James Naughton as Billy Flynn. The revival was much better received than it’s predecessor and it won many awards, especially the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. The new revival was so popular, it has a movie based on it. The movie has Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma, Renee Zellweger as Roxie, and Richard Gere as Billy Flynn. The movie also won many awards, like the Academy Award for Best Picture in