Vienna concerts, opera, operetta, theatre and sightseeing tours

Chicago, the hugely entertaining musical by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, comes to the Volksoper Wien, in a production that evokes the golden age of American vaudeville. It tells an often darkly comic tale of ambition, deception and the desire for the spotlight in the showbusiness industry of the 1920s. Having been produced many times on the stage since its original Broadway run in New York City, Chicago was also made into a memorable movie in 2002. This production in Vienna provides audiences with a chance to witness it live over half a century since this enduring story was first brought to the stage.

Chicago premiered on 3 June 1975 at New York's 46th Street Theatre, running for well over 900 performances before it closed in 1977. The original production was directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, a world-renowned great of musical theatre and film, including work as a performer and director in Kiss Me Kate (1953), Cabaret (1972) and All That Jazz (1979). He teamed up with Fred Ebb as the musical's lyricist, while John Kander provided the music. The trio based their musical on a 1926 stage play of the same name written by Maurine Dallas Watkins. During her early career as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s, Watkins worked as a court reporter, often writing stories about female murderers, including some notorious cases which later served as inspiration for her play.

Fosse, Kander and Ebb wanted to create a musical satire that would highlight the corruption found within some of the criminal justice system. Consequently, Chicago's plot centres on criminals who try to manipulate their stories into a form of entertainment, essentially to gain some kind of celebrity status based on their notoriety. At its heart, the tale focuses on Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, two women who have been imprisoned for murder. Roxie hires the city's slickest criminal lawyer, asking him to transform her misdeeds into a series of sensational headlines. She hopes that she can dupe the public and the media, thereby getting away with her crime through an acquittal. Along the way, she must also try to deceive Velma, her cellmate, but will she succeed in pulling it off?

Chicago features some very memorable numbers. Among them is Cell Block Tango, an ensemble song performed by no fewer than six female cast members in which each expresses her version of the events that have led them to prison. All That Jazz, the musical’s opening number and one of the show’s best-known songs, is sung by Velma. It sets the tone for much of the swing-era–influenced score that follows. Audiences at the Volksoper Vienna will undoubtedly enjoy the sheer exuberance that Chicago continues to offer over a century since the somewhat fictionalised events it depicts.