Chicago Tickets

'Chicago' is one of the most loved musicals to ever be performed in both the West End and on Broadway. having initially opened in 1975 in New York, the musical played for years before it opened in 1997 in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre. Quickly becoming one of the stalwarts of London theatre, 'Chicago' continues to draw huge crowds, though it now plays at the Cambridge Theatre following it's move there in 2006. The musical's popularity and continued success led to it's adaptation into the Oscar Award winning 2002 movie by the same name (starring Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones), as well as several international stage productions in countries as far afield as South Korea, Brazil, Canada, South Africa and Australia. If you're struggling to choose from the many West End shows available, stick with a classic - you won't be disappointed.

'Chicago' is based upon a play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a journalist who had covered several high-profile cases brought to court in Chicago in the 1920s. Her play focussed on the lives of two of the most famous murderesses the U.S. city had ever seen - Belva Gaertner (named Velma Kelly in the play and later musical) and Beulah Annan (Roxie Hart in the play and musical). The play was adapted first into a silent film and then into a biographical movie starring Ginger Rogers, before it finally opened as a musical in the 1970s. The musical opens with Velma Kelly, a famous vaudeville performer, singing the well-known number 'All That Jazz'. Velma is jailed for murdering her sister and husband after finding them in bed together. Roxie Hart, a chorus girl who aspires to have Velma's success, is also in trouble - she has murdered her lover Fred Casely and tried to get her faithful but somewhat dim-witted husband to take the blame for it by telling him that Fred was an intruder. Amos, Roxie's husband, realises the truth of the incident and Roxie is thrown into jail, only to meet up with her hero Velma and several other colourful characters, including Matron 'Mama' Morton who sings, 'When You're Good to Mama'.

Both Velma and Roxie enjoy the fame that has come from being beautiful yet dangerous women, and interest in both performers sky-rockets. Roxie secures the lawyer already representing Velma, the successful but slimy Billy Flynn, who promises to have both of the women declared innocent. Velma grows jealous of the increased attention Roxie is receiving and grows angry that Flynn, originally her lawyer, is putting more effort into Roxie's case than her own. In a master-stroke, Flynn paints Roxie as the innocent victim forced to act in self-defence, and her further surge in popularity causes Velma to be completely ignored by the press who once stalked her every move. The two decide to announce that Roxie is pregnant in a move to gain public sympathy, and Roxie's husband Amos claims the baby as his own (despite it being mathematically impossible). Seeing Roxie's rise to fame as an opportunity to secure her own falling star, Velma offers Roxie the vacated position in her sister act. Roxie declines Velma's proposition, wanting to be a star in her own right, so Velma instead decides to work on her court-room act, planning appearance down to the finest detail and working to appeal to the jury's sympathies. Velma makes the mistake of revealing her plans to Flynn, who repeats them to Roxie. Stealing Velma's 'act', Roxie is subsequently found innocent, only to find that the attention of the media has been drawn by a new case and Roxie is now a 'has-been'. The musical closes with Velma and Roxie forming a duo and performing 'Hot Honey Rag'.

Renowned for it's fantastic jazz, Charleston, soft-shoe shuffle, vaudeville and big band numbers, 'Chicago' is one of the most popular London musicals. Audiences can expect to enjoy a number of tap and chorus-line performances with the women wearing cabaret-style costumes and the men decked out in suits. The musical is so popular that many celebrities (who otherwise have no stage experience) have made appearances as the lead characters, including Ashlee Simpson, Denise van Outen, Kelly Osbourne, David Hasselhoff, George Hamilton, Mya, Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, and Usher. Theatre professionals Ruthie Henshall and Ute Lemper have also held the roles of Roxie and Velma respectively. The show won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical in 1998, whilst the Broadway revival won a Tony Award in 1997.