THE PLOT
As the OVERTURE ends, we're introduced to Velma Kelly -- a vaudevillian who shot the other half of her sister act when she caught her husband with her sister. 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 Casely. Roxie convinces her husband Amos that the victim was a burglar, and he cheerfully takes the rap.
Roxie expresses her appreciation in song (FUNNY HONEY) until the police reveal to Amos that Roxie knew the burglar, shall we say, intimately, and Amos decides to let her swing for herself. Roxie's first taste of the criminal justice system is the women's block in Cook County Jail, inhabited by Velma and other merry murderesses (CELL BLOCK TANGO). The women's jail is presided over by Matron "Mama" Morton whose system of mutual aid (WHEN YOU'RE GOOD TO MOMMA) perfectly suits her clientele. She has helped Velma become the media's top murderer-of-the-week and is acting as booking agent for Velma's big return to vaudeville (after her acquittal, naturally.)
Velma is not happy to see Roxie, who is stealing not only her limelight but 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 sympathetic tabloid columnist Mary Sunshine, who always tries to find A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD in everyone.
Roxie's press conference turns into a ventriloquist act with Billy dictating a new version of the truth (WE BOTH REACHED FOR THE GUN) while Roxie mouths the words. Roxie becomes the new toast of Chicago and Velma's headlines, trial date and career are left in the dust. Velma tries to talk Roxie into recreating the sister act (I CAN'T DO IT ALONE) but Roxie turns her down, only to find her own headlines replaced by the latest sordid crime of passion. Separately, Roxie and Velma realize there's no one they can count on but themselves (MY OWN BEST FRIEND), and the ever-resourceful Roxie decides that being pregnant in prison would put her back on the front page.
Back after the ENTR'ACTE, 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 paternity, and still nobody notices him, MR. CELLOPHANE. Velma desperately tries to show Billy all the tricks she's got planned (WHEN VELMA TAKES THE STAND).
Billy's forte may be showmanship (RAZZLE DAZZLE), but when he passes all Velma's ideas on to Roxie, down to the rhinestone shoe buckles, Mama and Velma 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 pack of press bloodhounds away, and Roxie's fleeting celebrity is over. Left in the dust, she pulls herself up and extols the joys of life NOWADAYS. She teams up with Velma in that sister act (NOWADAYS), in which they dance their little hearts out (HOT HONEY RAG) 'til they are joined by the entire company for the grand FINALE.
The John Kander-Fred Ebb-Bob Fosse musical CHICAGO is described in its opening number as a "story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, and treachery--all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts." In short, CHICAGO is a musical that is a parade of highly-creative Broadway show-stoppers that each make a satiric point about the American judicial system...a topic made even more relevant in the recent O.J. Simpson and Menendez Brothers murder trials.
The musical CHICAGO tells its story through a series of show-stopping songs. It is based on actual murders in history, written about in a 1926 satirical play by Maurine Dallas Watkins. The character Roxie Hart is based on the real-life murderess Beulah Annan.
One of the healthiest ways of dealing with the intolerable is to make fun of it, or satirize it. The musical "Chicago" is a satire on our judicial system and how the media can at times influence the outcome of court cases.
CHICAGO
THE STORY
Act One
As a jazz band plays a brief OVERTURE, we find out that Roxie Hart has just killed her former lover Fred Casely. Fellow murderess Velma Kelly sings the song ALL THAT JAZZ.
It's just a noisy hall
Where there's a nightly brawl
And all that jazz...
Roxie's husband, Amos Hart, admits to police that he was coerced into committing the murder of Fred Casely, causing Roxie to lament Amos' stupidity in the song FUNNY HONEY.
She is thrown in the Cook County Jail with Velma and other Merry Murderesses who sing about their "innocence" in the song THE CELL BLOCK TANGO. Roxie also meets the overly friendly Mama Morton, the jail matron, who sings WHEN YOU'RE GOOD TO MOMMA. Roxie, Velma and the Murderesses all hope to get out of their murder raps by hiring shyster lawyer Billy Flynn. Billy sings about his love of legal procedure in the song ALL I CARE ABOUT. Billy loves to practice law by manipulating the local gossip columnist Mary Sunshine (who sings her journalistic creed in the number A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD). Billy coaches Roxie in a sob story: runaway marriage, foolish affair and then WE BOTH REACH FOR THE GUN. Soon the headlines scream, ROXIE ROCKS CHICAGO! Roxie muses: "If this Flynn guy gets me off, and with all this publicity, I could get into vaudeville." She sings ROXIE.
Still in jail but glowing in new-found fame, both Roxie and Velma (singing I CAN'T DO IT ALONE), find themselves no longer the hottest item in the media. A new murderess now grabs all the attention. To gain attention back, Roxie and Velma team up to sing MY OWN BEST FRIEND.
Roxie faints. She makes a dramatic announcement to capture attention: she says she's pregnant. All Velma can do is shake her head and sing ALL THAT JAZZ. Flashbulbs pop...Roxie is the center of attention...the curtain falls.
Act Two
The Second Act opens with Roxie singing to her supposed baby in the song ME AND MY BABY. Amos realizes he's been used and calls himself MR. CELLOPHANE.
Mister Cellophane
'Cause you can look right through me
Walk right by me
And never know I'm there
Velma demonstrates her sense of showmanship in the song WHEN VELMA TAKES THE STAND.
Roxie resents being ordered around by Billy, so she fires him. But once she finds out that one of the Murderesses is hanged, she hurries back to Billy, who prepares for his big courtroom performances by trying to look like the legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow. He tells Roxie:
"It's all a circus, kid. A three-ring circus. These trials--the whole world--all show business. But kid, you're working with a star, the biggest."
Billy sings the song RAZZLE DAZZLE. In court, after using Amos to soften the jury's heart, Billy questions Roxie about events leading up to the killing. She recounts that Fred Casely forced his way into her bedroom.
She testifies, "We both reached for the gun. But I got it first." Billy asks, "Then it was his life or yours?" Roxie goes to the jury, pats her stomach, and answers, "And not just mine! And I closed my eyes and shot." Billy asks, "In defense of your life?" Roxie replies, "To save my husband's innocent unborn child!"
Having heard about Roxie's courtroom charade, Mama Morton and Velma reminisce about the good old days in the song CLASS.
The jury finds Roxie not guilty, but another sensational murder steals the press' attention before Roxie can capitalize on her notoriety. Amos remains loyal to Roxie, but she tells him there is no baby. She wonders about the world in the song NOWADAYS.
The scene changes as a night club emcee announces a new act: "Chicago's own killer-dillers--those two scintillating sinners--Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly." Yes, the deadly duo have joined forces as a new vaudeville team. They're a hit as they sing the reprise of ALL THAT JAZZ.
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