Chicago The Musical

Chicago is based on reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins' 1926 play of the same name, which was itself based on actual events Watkins covered in Chicago in the mid- 1920s. Ironically, the scandal-driven newspaper columns Watkins wrote were principal creators of the murderess/celebrities she mocked in her play. When her play was produced on Broadway, she tried to hide its newspaper origins.

Her play and its story were intriguing, though. The film Chicago was made from it in 1928, and another film named Roxie Hart (with Ginger Rogers) was made in 1942. Sometime in the 1950s Bob Fosse began to examine a musical production of the play, but it wasn't until 1969 that Watkins' estate released the rights. Fosse's collaboration with Kander and Ebb resulted in Chicago's premiere at the 46th Street Theatre on June 3, 1975. Opening with Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach, it played 898 performances before closing on August 27, 1977.

The public's response to Chicago was less than enthusiastic. Though its run was successful, reviewers were ambivalent. The cynicism of the story and the bite of Fosse and Ebbs' lyrics were too harsh for the audience of 1975, and Chicago drowned in the wild popularity of its cheerier rival A Chorus Line. It did not win a single Tony Award in its two-year run.

By the 1990s, however, the public was riding a wave of cynicism and celebrity murderers, and the time was ripe for a revival of Chicago. The production began as four performances in the City Center's 1995 “Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert” series, directed by Walter Bobbie. The extremely favorable response it garnered fueled the production's move to Broadway the next season. Bobbie's 1996 Broadway revival was vastly streamlined from the 1975 original, with minimalist set and lighting, an edited script and updated, sexier costumes. Instead of creating a “Razzle Dazzle” spectacle of a show, Bobbie set out to dazzle with Chicago's dark essence.

And dazzle it did. In 1997 his production won six Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards, a Drama Critics Circle Award, five Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Astaire Awards and a Drama League Award; in 1998 the cast recording won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. Subsequent touring companies have won numerous awards as well. The show continues to thrill audiences around the world, and with no evidence of its popularity waning, Chicago will certainly continue to slay 'em.

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