THE PLAY + THE MUSICAL = REAL LIFE!

A scene from "CHICAGO" on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre. www.ChicagoTheMusical.com. Photo: Paul Kolnik.

"Murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, treachery."

CHICAGO characters Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly are based on the real life murderesses of Cook County Jail. 

In 1924, the Chicago Tribune's front page reported two sensational crimes. Beulah Annan, often called 'the most stylish of murderess row,' was indicted for bumping off an intruder. Cabaret singer Belva Gaertner, referred to as 'the beauty of the cellblock,' was accused of murdering of her husband.

Gin and Guns
Tribune journalist Maurine Dallas Watkins covered the trials, where accused murderer Belva Gaertner told her, "gin and guns - either one is bad enough, but together they get you in a dickens of a mess, don't they?" 

Playing up the men, jazz, and booze aspects of the crimes, Watkins' stories sold a lot of papers.

Does this sound like a musical?
Annan testified at her trial that before she shot the intruder, they struggled and both reached for the gun. Then she told her husband that she had killed a man who tried to make love to her.

Just like in the musical, there was a media frenzy. One of the women claimed to be pregnant and slick lawyers helped both women get exonerated. It was believed the sob story coverage of the crimes in the Chicago Tribune contributed to the acquittals.

Shortly after the verdicts, Watkins covered the infamous Leopold and Loeb case, which quickly pushed the merry murderesses off the front page. There was a new sob story in the Chicago Tribune to catch the eye of the masses. While Roxie and Velma's 15 minutes of fame had passed, their story was not over.

The Real Story Becomes a Play
Watkins left the Tribune to pursue playwriting at Yale University, telling the story of the two murders she had covered for the newspaper. Her play was originally called The Brave Little Woman, then the title was changed to Chicago, or, Play Ball. It opened on Broadway in 1926 playing 172 performances. It then toured for 2 years starring an unknown Clark Gable.

1927 saw a silent film version of the popular play directed by Cecil B. DeMille, followed by the 1942 film Roxie Hart starring Ginger Rogers. 

The Play Becomes a Musical
Then in 1956, Gwen Verdon read the play and asked Bob Fosse to make it into a musical for her. Fosse approached Maurine Watkins, but was refused the rights for 13 years. She had become religious and it was speculated that she felt guilt for helping get the women exonerated, or she was tired of being recognized for only one play. 

It wasn't until after her death in 1969 that her estate gave Fosse the rights to adapt the play. Real life had finally become musical theater. Then in 2002, real life became reel life as the musical won an Oscar for Best Picture.