Of course you can find humor and un in the celebrity criminals who distort the criminal justice system -- provided it's set in Prohibition Era Chicago. And set to music. Rhode Island's oldest community theater, The Community Players, currently celebrating their 87th season, will present the red-hot Tony Award-winning musical, Chicago this month, finding their own measure of fun in celebrity murderesses.

		Chicago, though humourous, is a dark parable of the American justice system, which tells the story of a two-bit aging bleach-blonde named Roxie Hart who becomes a headline-grabbing star by killing her two-timing lover and trying to pin it on her clueless husband. She not only avoids prison with the help of razzle-dazzle lawyer, Billy Flynn, but she uses the trial to propel herself to showbiz stardom along with another murderous jailbird, Velma Kelly. Chicago is a Kander and Ebb musical set in prohibition era Chicago. The book is by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice, and the concept of the "celebrity criminal."

The musical is based on a 1926 play of the same name by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals and crimes she had reported on.

The original 1975 Broadway production ran for a total of 936 performances. Bob Fosse choreographed the original production, and his style is strongly identified with the show. Chicago's 1996 Broadway revival holds the record for the longest-running musical revival on Broadway (not counting the revue Oh! Calcutta!) and, as of March 2, 2008, it has played for more than 4,684 performances. The revival was followed by a production on London's West End and several tours and international productions. An Academy Award-winning film version of the musical was released in 2002.

This production of the explosive musical extravaganza is directed by Greg Geer with musical direction by Ron Procopio and choreography by Marjorie Santos, is full of show-stopping numbers including “All That Jazz,” “Razzle Dazzle,” “Mr. Cellophane” and “Class.”

Featuring the talents of Janet Barton, Andrew g. Bobola, Gregory Bonin, Ed Carusi, Lia DelSesto, Michael J. DiMascolo, Michael Evora, Tracie Finan, Melanie Gendreau, John Gomes, Judith Gough, Nicole Gousie, Bob Gruslin, Venugopalan Anantharamakumar, Brian Lamothe, Christine Lariviere, Dale Magnuson, Jennifer Mischley, Ashley Paiva, Taryn Mallard-Reid and Leslie Racine-Vazquez, Chicago is sexy, sophisticated, exciting and energetic!

The musical Chicago is based on a play of the same name by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, who had been assigned to cover the 1924 trials of murderesses Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the Chicago Tribune. Annan, the model for the character of Roxie Hart, was 23 when she was accused of the murder of Harry Kalstedt. The Tribune reported that Annan played the foxtrot record "Hula Lou" over and over for two hours before calling her husband to say she killed a man who "tried to make love to her." She was found "not guilty" on May 25, 1924. Velma is based on Gaertner, who was a cabaret singer. The body of Walter Law was discovered slumped over the steering wheel of Gaertner's abandoned car on March 12, 1924. Two police officers testified that they had seen a woman getting into the car and shortly thereafter heard gunshots. A bottle of gin and an automatic pistol were found on the floor of the car. Gaertner was acquitted on June 6, 1924. The two lawyers, William Scott Stewart and W. W. O'Brien, were models for a composite character in Chicago, "Billy Flynn."

Dallas-Watkins' sensational columns documenting these trials proved so popular that she decided to write a play based on them. The show received both popular and critical acclaim and even made it to Broadway in 1926, running for 172 performances. A 1927 silent film version produced by Cecil B. DeMille and starring former Mack Sennett bathing beauty Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart was remade as Roxie Hart, in 1942 with Ginger Rogers in the title role.

Gwen Verdon read the play and asked her husband, Bob Fosse, about the possibility of creating a musical based on it. Fosse approached Watkins multiple times to ask her permission to adapt the play as a musical, but he was rejected in each instance. Upon her death in 1969, however, Watkins instructed that the rights to Chicago be sold to Verdon and Fosse. John Kander and Fred Ebb began work on the score, modeling each number on a traditional vaudeville number or a vaudeville performer. This format made explicit the show's comparison between "justice", "show-business", and contemporary society. Ebb and Fosse penned the book of the musical, with Fosse also directing and choreographing.

Produced at the Jenks Auditorium located on Division Street in Pawtucket, across from McCoy Stadium, performances are scheduled for April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20 with Friday and Saturday evening performances at 8pm, Sunday matinee performances at 2pm. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for students (through high school). Discount rates are also available for all performances for groups of 20 or more.

On opening night, Friday, April 4 there will be a special opening night party following the performance, at which all audience members will be invited to meet the cast and crew, take a backstage tour and enjoy complimentary refreshments.

For reservations call (401) 726-6860. Jenks Auditorium is located on Division Street in Pawtucket, RI across from McCoy Stadium.

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