Go to the shop Go to the shop. (Avoiding Spoilers) Grew up in cynical times. . Notificarme los nuevos comentarios por correo electrnico. Even vaudeville has its own spin on sharing these stories. Manipulated easily, Amos is the only character in Chicago whose motives are entirely pure, never selfish and hes the only character who really loses ultimately. Billy Flynn is a heavily corrupt lawyer notorious for getting unrepentant murderers freed. Velma Kelly. Told through a series of vaudeville routines, the story of Chicago begins with Velma Kelly (Chita Rivera) setting the tone and atmosphere of the period with "All That Jazz.". G. Gillian Russo January 10, 2023, 09:53. Since Chicago is a 1970s musical that's set in the 1920s, most of the songs below are either from pre-contemporary musicals or musicals that are set in the 1920s. The singer/songwriter known for songs like "Hip to Be Square," "The Heart of Rock & Roll," and "I Want a New Drug" played Billy Flynn in . He has never lost a case involving a female defendant in his whole career, but in turn charges high fees for his services ($5,000), demands payment in full up-front, and never takes pro bono work. This upsets Velma greatly as she becomes old news. It brings with . Despite the uncomfortable way in which our social media punitive system can manifest (thanks to the brevity of public attention and tendency to accept headlines as representative of a whole), one thing remains true: we cannot rely on the system for justice, particularly when it comes to holding men accountable for their treatment of women. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. Flynn is a composite character based on real-life Chicago attorneys of the era, William Scott Stewart and W. W. Completely loyal and devoted to his beloved wife. Life is dramatic enough for the sob stories. Luckily, hes in the perfect town for sensational murders. But that was the only time it was used. Despite the supposedly light, vaudeville style of Chicago, Kander, Ebb and Fosse's adaptation (which takes inspiration from Maurine Dallas Watkin's play of the same name) draws purposeful parallels between the legal system and the culture of celebrity and sensation journalism. People watch Chicago The Musical to laugh. And the choreography doesn't copy Fosse's inimitable style, but it's not far from it, either; the movie sideswipes imitation on its way to homage. Best of 2022 Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. We stand wi, "Beginning is at once a masterful composition of observational comedy, and an incredibly moving commentary on moder, Misinformation and lack of knowledge often turn our bodily fluids into a taboo. carcinization etymology; abandoned places in dartmouth ma. Amos is not very good looking and he is not very Smart. References to the '20s ("Roxy's dress is really a flapper dress; there are references to gangsters like . Chicago Play Critique Character Analysis. Now comes word they'll be adding a plus one . My client feels that it was the combination of liquor and jazz that led to her downfall.Billy to the reporters in his campaign for Roxie's defence. Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Roxie's simpering sap of a husband, Amos, ponies up some of the cash, and Billy Flynn decides to auction off some Roxie memorabilia to make up the difference. %PDF-1.4 Please like our official Facebook page, MusicalsOnline.com and while youre at it, follow us on Twitter @musicalsnews. Musicals usually rely on the memorable songs to induce several incidents of last song syndrome (LSS). % The Design. Ring of Keys: Lyrics from Fun Home The Musical, Chicago The Musical lyrics: Cell Block Tango. He is an incredibly charismatic, flamboyant and smooth talking lawyer with an incredibly corrupt and nihilistic outlook on life. The comparison, though satirical, strikes a rather serious chord under all the cabaret, cursing and relentless sarcasm. Roxie Hart, Billy Flynn, Amos Hart. District Attorney who is prosecuting Roxie. Currently the second longest-running show on Broadway, the 1996 revival of Chicago boasts a long list of celebrities who have stepped into its leading roles. Part Size: Supporting. He puts Roxie in jail. !, thus including him in the swelling ranks of 1920sf*ckboygaslighters. Soap star Billy Flynn (Chad DiMera, Days of our Lives) and his wife, Gina Comparetto, just made a groovy announcement: they are expecting a baby! "Chicago" is a Musical with music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. So its not just a series of jazzed up song-and-dance numbers. Bob Fosse A topnotch vaudeville performer, Velma Kelly was incarcerated for her murder of her husband and her sister after catching them in bed. Billy Flynn is just in it for the money. She can manage everything inside of the County Jail. There's an inspired scene of ventriloquism and puppetry at a press conference, with all of the characters dangling from strings. Do me a little favor, darling. As he tells his client, Roxie, You mean just one thing to me: you call me when you got $5000.Challenge maintaining his perfect court record. But for the most part the film runs on solid-gold cynicism. But that in no way meant that he was out of the woods. An early shot in "Being Flynn" shows Robert De Niro behind the wheel of a Yellow Cab, and the ground shifts beneath the movie. Kelly Osbourne as Mama Morton 'Chicago, The Musical' (2006) . Get Access. Arrogant and self-centered, she rebuffs the admiration and adulation that Roxie gave her. Roxie has several press . Some journalists could only be so vulnerable a trait not advisable for their profession. American. And she found a way to make a bad situation work out for her like realizing how she can be the toast of the town despite being in jail which brings us to the next factor that made this musical such a hit. Most of Billy Flynn's clients actually did commit the murder they are accused of; therefore he usually attempts to conjure a defense of self-defense or insanity. We meet Roxie Hart, married early and unwisely, to Amos Hart (John C. Reilly), a credulous lunkhead. In the musical version, you are left to judge that on your own. CHICAGO the Musical is based off the 1926 play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, the reporter assigned to cover the 1924 trials of murderesses Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. In our version this person will be performed by a member from the band. The case against Beulah May Annan, the model for Roxie, was very close to her story in Chicago. In the musical, Flynn sings three songs. Tom Hewitt is currently . Fosse, who grew up in Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s, lived in a city where the daily papers roared with the kinds of headlines the movie loves. I will also talk about my ideas for the costumes for the prison girls. If you are going to edit a lot, then make yourself a user and login. On both stage and screen, Roxie and Velma salvage their meagre existence after prison when they come together, putting aside their instincts to compete with each other in order to dazzle twice as much as a double act. She has a lover named Fred Casely (Dominic West), who sweet-talks her with promises of stardom. Its already 2015. Even on his way . Reilly brings a kind of pathetic sincere naivete to the role--the same tone, indeed, he brings to a similar husband in "The Hours," where it is also needed. Character Analysis (Avoiding Spoilers) . Character Analysis. Velma is in it for the fame. And even folks who never attended law school can tell how he managed to defend Roxie Hart. As he modestly puts it, I dont mean to toot my own horn, but if Jesus Christ lived in Chicago today, and he had come to me and he had five thousand dollars, lets just say things would have turned out differently. Relying on the sympathies of the public, Billy plays off his female clients as victims. Gender: Male. Ha rd e n e d b y f a me , Lets analyze the characters that made a dent in our memory among the musicals that we have seen so far. Bob Fosse choreographed the protection with his style of jazz hand, side ways shoulder rolls, and bowler hats. "All I Care About (is Love)" serves as Flynn's jingle, in which the crooner claims not to care about wealth or materialism and works for his love of women (later revealed to be a complete lie), "They Both Reached For The Gun (The Press Conference Rag)" serves as a ventriloquist act with a call-and-response between Billy's "dummy" Roxie and the press, and "Razzle Dazzle" (a champagnesque piece with what Jerry Orbach described as "Brechtian subtlety"[1]) serves as the explanation of Flynn's modus operandi: make the case a distraction so that the jury loses attention. Definitely the kind of lawyer you would hire because his antics can work to your, hes worth the money paid. Daytime star's family is about to get bigger by one. Although modern audiences don't like to see stories interrupted by songs, apparently they like songs interrupted by stories. Born sometime in 1955, Flynn and his mother Nora, a prostitute and drug addict, lived in the suburbs of southern California in his early years. Typical Chicago cop who has been through this kind of thing many times. The whole world its all show business. Billys not concerned with whether hes following the spirit of the law, so long as he wins the case. Los campos obligatorios estn marcados con *. Upgrade to PRO Sign Up for PRO to view suggested audition pieces! Chicago is about you. September 13, 2020. Mary Sunshine is one of the journalists assigned to cover the development in the murder case of which Roxie Hart is the primary suspect. Other than that, enjoy Villains Wiki!!! One number thats left out of the 2002 movie is My Own Best Friend, which Alexandra Burke and Josefina Gabrielle bring to life on stage at the Phoenix. Whether Roxie Hart is already a spotlight hog before she met Billy Flynn or not, meeting Billy Flynn helped spark that fame whore in her. Yeah, it is a parody of the legal system but the main reason why it succeeded in being funny is because of the truth found there. She was known for having a performing act with her sister Veronica, but she killed her husband and her sister after finding them together. Billy will take any case as long as it is sure to put money in his pocket. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until . Enter a world of jazz, crime, and razzle dazzle at Chicago on Broadway. Needs to be a strong character actor who can sing and dance well. As for Queen Latifah, she's too young to remember Sophie Tucker, but not to channel her. Through the characters nave faith in the glitz of fame, coupled with lawyer Billy Flynns (Richard Gere) impressive courtroom tap dancing (and casual objectification of women), the film makes a clear comparison between showbiz and the legal system. Billy Flynn said it best too Its showbiz!. That way, he ended up becoming a tool for everyone to exploit. Theres something alluring about the irreverent way female jazz performances reclaim feminine sexuality and play a part in the subversive culture of jazz and metropolitan life. include an upper and lower case character and a number. If Billy is the Agent, Mama would be considered the Manager. Please enable Javascript and hit the button below! All that is viewed legal of course. The multi-platinum. The Phantom of the Opera: What Was the Monkey Music Box For? ???? Billy Flynn has been a mainstay on the Chicago blues circuit since the mid-80's. In a typical set he'll segue from sophisticated Texas jump blues into raw Delta or postwar-Chicago style sounds. Paul Dano is an actor who can be distant and mystifying. Mama recommends Billy Flynn, a man who has never lost a case for a woman, and who only costs $5,000. In the original Broadway version, the song was performed by Flynn's actor, the late Jerry Orbach. . These are small roles that will be played by members of the chorus and the dance ensemble. musical villains mashup // 20+ shows ???? She herself shows a certain genius in the process, as when she dramatically reveals she is pregnant with Amos' child, a claim that works only if nobody in the courtroom can count to nine. The vaudeville is perfect for a caricature of 1920s Chicago, where life seemed to occur exclusively in the seductive smog of jazz bars, and rejecting the moral norms of previous decades wastrs la mode. Meet The Flynn Family - This is Chicago's largest crime family with Walter Flynn being in the game for around 30 years, he's an old head and he's been around. . The same game plan he used on Velma Kelly is the same game plan he used on Roxie Hart. She then realized the extent of her arrogance once Roxie pointed out to her that shes been pushed off the front page. Trending. Husband: Charlie. *Our system only provides suggested monologues or songs for select characters if we have matching monologues and song information in our database. It is the story of Roxie Hart (Rene Zellweger), a wannabe cabaret star in 1920s Chicago.She sleeps around unbeknownst to her husband, Amos (John C. Reilly), but has a falling-out with one of her lovers, shoots him and is arrested for murder. Real friendship between women barely exists inChicago, and the main characters scheme against each other and refuse to make connections that arent based on personal gain. He considers his profession to be akin to the entertainment industry, with himself as an A-list star in the field. From main characters to cameos and minor roles, these characters are the reason why the movie is loved by film buffs around the world. He can make the court believe that his client is not a murderer but only an innocent soul pushed to a corner into fighting back. Innocent, sexy, desperate, selfish. A topnotch vaudeville performer, Velma Kelly was incarcerated for her murder of her husband and her sister after catching them in bed. Billy is a calm, smooth-talking and charismatic lawyer who always looks for loopholes and twists the truth in order for him to win his clients' cases. Beulah was a jazz singer, whose husband Albert worked in a garage. Surely enough, he has other clients too but in the case of Velma, she can work her own wonders into putting her face on the front page for everyone to gawk at. And this is vaudeville where people are too happy to react to murders going on. That said, you should still show off similar vocals and personality. That's the angle I'm after.Billy talking to Amos about his campaign on helping Roxie. When public attention fades, even Duncan from Blue (sorry, their lawyer, Billy Flynn) seems to lose interest in their cases. She is a nave woman with a bad temper. And no feel-good musical would dare tell you the truth in barely-there clothing and fishnet stockings. Velma is supposed to be a singing and dancing star, and Zeta-Jones delivers with glamor, high style and the delicious confidence the world forces on you when you are one of its most beautiful inhabitants. Roxie doesn't have one, so Mama suggests the best criminal lawyer in Chicago, BILLY FLYNN. Even if she seems to be silly and childish, also she can be really dangerous. The villainy of the six Cook County Jail murderesses, as told through Cell Block Tango, is temptingly redemptive as we hear the list of their murdered partners crimes against them. She is an aspiring actress who gets into trouble with the law after murdering a man she was having an affair with and enlists the help of Billy Flynn to get her out of jail and into spotlight as a star She was portrayed by Gwen Verdon in the 1975 musical, and by Rene Zellweger in its 2002 film adaptation . Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Sometimes you are more interested in the lawyers showmanship than whether the accused deserved to be convicted or not. to read our character analysis for Billy Flynn and unlock other amazing theatre resources! This story, lightweight but cheerfully lurid, fueled Bob Fosse, John Kander and Fred Ebb's original stage production of "Chicago," which opened in 1975 and has been playing somewhere or other ever after--since 1997 again on Broadway. Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb; Based on the play . In the end he manages to get Roxie acquitted, largely on account of turning the trial into a media circus. That's one thing he can manage to be honest about. According to all our favourite depictions of this time, it was one of sexual liberation, misbehaving women, and the heady, corrupting, influence of jazz music and abundant liquor. Roxie is not very bright and never thinks about Some things havent changed indeed. O'Brien. Beware Terrible view from normal price balcony seats Phantom of the Opera Her Majesty's Theatre, Top 30 Most Influential People in Musical Theater. Chicago. Vocal Part: Bass-Baritone. He has a strong speaking ability, lots of energy and presence. Sweetest little jazz killer in Chicago. When we support each other, believe each other, and raise up our voices together,thenwe truly triumph. He could have easily taken the fall for his wifes crime if not for his wifes idiocy. While being initially suspicious of Roxies innocence, Billy Flynns persuasion skills eventually influenced the way she covered the case. Mazz Murray stuns as Mama Morton at the Phoenix Theatre, London. New York, NY, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall The audience. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Show Guides. She found out her husband had several wives and killed him with Arsenic. Expressive and charismatic. Without Flynn and with a dose of brainless arrogance, she almost got hanged if not for a need to live again and enjoy being the media celebrity all over again. Chicago, a musical originally choreographed, directed and co-written by the legendary Bob Fosse in 1975, is the story of Roxie Hart, a wannabe cabaret star in 1920s Chicago. Kelly is based on the character "Velma", who first appeared in the 1926 play, also called Chicago, who was in-turn inspired by the life of Belva Gaertner . And even folks who never attended law school can tell how he managed to defend Roxie Hart. The moment a culture have managed to present even the darkest stories in the most upbeat manner possible, you know that they have learned to cope with the burden of life. Destroy the systems that did offer social care and destroy the people who have to pick up the slack. Release Calendar Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Jan. 18, 2016. Watkins' sensational columns documenting these trials proved so popular that she decided to write a play based on them. An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works It doesnt overly dramatize things that happen daily in life. Theatrical Song. ???? His love of acting began as a child. Though it was practically accidental, the result was a female-driven powerhouse of a musical which culminates in the thrilling alliance of two hardened veterans of showbiz. They'll love you a lot more when you hang. Just like Velma, she is self-centered and is only concerned with the now, not the aftermath that follows the case once the verdict is handed down. Billy Flynn became a lawyer for two reasons: a) the money, and b) because people are schmucks, as easily fooled as children.Living at the top of 1920s Chicago society. He was born on May 29, 1985, and shares his birthday with basketball player Carmello Anthony and the late President John F. Kennedy. "He's a flamboyant Chicago attorney. As the best lawyer in town, Billy is just as big a celebrity as any of the glitzy, glamorous jazz singers. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Videos. . The song is a true show with backup dancers, costume changes, and dancing, and Flynn takes the viewer to see him as the "ordinary guy" before realizing he is a top-notch lawyer in town.