Chicago is a dark satire of the American criminal justice system. In the musical Chicago, crime is entertainment, the press and officials are playing fast and loose with the facts, innocent verdicts can be bought and sold, and fame at whatever cost is the pinnacle of the American dream. Sound familiar?
In the roaring twenties, there was no entertainment more uniquely American than Vaudeville. American Vaudeville was made up of over 15,000 venues and 25,000 comedians, singers, ventriloquists, acrobats, animal trainers and anyone who could keep an audience interested for more than three minutes. Bob Fosse knew this world; as a teenage dance act he performed alongside washed up veteran acts in the last dark days of continuous Vaudeville. This genre of live entertainment forms the structure of the play.
Join Christopher Núñez, Director, and Kate Gelabert, Choreographer, for a post-show discussion and Q&A on how Bob Fosse and American Vaudeville influenced and were utilized within the School of Theatre’s production of Chicago.