Chicago

Long before Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly had names, they had mugshots. In 1924, Chicago tabloids were consumed by Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, two unrelated women tried for murder and both acquitted; largely because all-male juries of the era were reluctant to convict an attractive woman. Covering both trials was Chicago Tribune reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, whose ironic dispatches later became a satirical play that folded the two cases into one fictional cell block.

Watkins's 1926 play was a hit, and decades later, Gwen Verdon brought the play to her husband, Bob Fosse, who conceived the 1975 stage musical Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville, staging each number as a self-contained old-timey act commenting on the courtroom drama around it.

By the time Miramax greenlit a film version of Chicago, the movie musical had been functionally extinct as a mainstream genre for years. Director Rob Marshall's dual-reality structure: staging musical numbers as Roxie's fantasy of vaudeville stardom rather than characters spontaneously singing in "real" Chicago, was a hedge against the exact audience resistance that had killed the genre in the '80s and '90s.

Chicago's satire targets trial-by-tabloid and fame built on notoriety; themes that land as prescient. But the film's own star wattage, the Miramax marketing juggernaut and the sheer fun of it, arguably succeeds by being the very thing it's satirizing.

Loved this episode? Here's how you can help:

⭐ Leave a 5-star review on your podcast app

💰 Join the Patreon for bonus content and early access

☕ Send a tip to support the show

📱 Share this episode with fellow film lovers

I would love to hear your thoughts on Chicago

• Twitter: @verbaldiorama
• Instagram: @verbaldiorama
• Facebook: @verbaldiorama
• Letterboxd: @verbaldiorama
• Email: verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com
• Website: verbaldiorama.com

Ear Worthy 2024 Best Movie Podcast Winner | Golden Lobes 2025 Earworm Award Nominee | Ear Worthy 2025 Best Movie Podcast Nominee | Golden Lobes 2025 Earworm Award Nominee

Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em.

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio

Current Patrons: Simon, Laurel, Derek, Cat, Andy, Mike, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Jack, Stuart, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Danny, Stu, Brett, Xenos, Sean, Ryno, Philip, Adam, Elaine, Aaron and Steve.

Thank you for supporting Verbal Diorama.

Mentioned in this episode:

Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon

Patreon