CHICAGO-the musical"Ladies and Gentlemen, you are about to see a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery--all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts."These words set the stage for the musical Chicago, set in the roaring 20's in Chicago, Illinois where the streets are alive with hot jazz and cold-blooded killers. THE STORY -ACT I: As the overture ends ,we're introduced to Velma-a vaudevillian who shot her husband and the other half of her sister act when she caught them in bed together. Velma invites us to sample ALL THAT JAZZ while showing us the story of chorus girl Roxie Hart's cold-blooded murder of nightclub regular Fred Casley. Roxie convinces her husband, Amos, that the victim was a burglar, and he cheerfully takes the rap. Roxie expresses her appreciation to her FUNNY HONEY until the police reveal to Amos that Roxie knew the burglar, how shall we say...intimatly and Amos decides to let her swing for herself. Roxie's first taste of the criminal justice system is the woman's block in the Cook County Jail, inhabited by Velma and other merry murderesses who tell their sordid stories in the CELL BLOCK TANGO. The women's jail is presided over by Matron "Mamma" Morton whose system of mutual aid or WHEN YOU'RE GOOD TO MAMMA perfectly suites her clientele. She has already helped Velma become the media's top murderer-of-the-week and is acting as booking agent for Velma's return to show business, after her acquittal of course. Velma is not happy to see Roxie who is stealing not only her limelight but also her lawyer Billy Flynn. Eagerly awaited by his all girl clientele, Billy sings his anthem, complete with a chorus of fan-dancers to prove that , quote "ALL I CARE ABOUT is love." Billy takes Roxie's case and re-arranges her story for consumption by the overly-sympathetic tabloid writer Mary Sunshine, who always tries to find A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD in everyone and everything. Roxie's press conference turns into a ventriloquist's act with Billy dictating the new version of the truth and Roxie mouthing the words as they explain that WE BOTH REACHED FOR THE GUN. ROXIE becomes the new toast of Chicago, and Velma's headlines, trial date, and career are all left in the dust. Velma tries to talk Roxie into recreating the sister act claiming that I CAN'T DO IT ALONE, but Roxie turns her down only to find her own headlines forgotten and replaced by the latest sordid crime of passion. Separately , Roxie and Velma decide that there is no-one they can count on but themselves (I AM MY OWN BEST FRIEND), and the ever-resourceful Roxie decides that being pregnant in prison might just put her back on the front page. After the entreact Velma cannot believe Roxie's continual run of luck (I KNOW A GIRL) despite Roxie's obvious falsehoods (ME AND MY BABY). A little shy on the arithmetic Amos proudly claims parenthood, and still nobody notices him, MR CELLOPHANE. Velma desperately tries to show Billy all her ideas for her upcoming trial, WHEN VELMA TAKES THE STAND. Billy's forte may be showmanship (RAZZLE DAZZLE), but when he passes all of Velma's ideas to Roxie, down to the rhinestone buckles, Velma and Mamma lament the demise of CLASS. As promised, Billy gets Roxie her acquittal, but just as the verdict is given, some even more sensational crime pulls the bloodhounds of the press away and Roxie's fleeting celebrity is over. Left in the dust ,for good this time, she pulls herself up and extols the joy of life NOWADAYS. She teams up with Velma in that sister act (NOWADAYS), in which they dance their little hearts out to the HOT HONEY RAG, 'til they are joined by the entire company for the grand FINALE. Text Menu (no Java)
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