Chicago 50 - No. 1 - Leading Ladies

To learn about the history of the 1975 musical Chicago, we must actually look back over 100 years to 1924. Our story begins with two real-life murderesses, Buelah Annan (left) and Belva Gaertner (right), who were charged with killing their husbands in Cook County, Chicago. Their stories were sensationalized in the newspapers by journalists, including reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, whose articles highlighted the women's beauty and the unlikely prospect of either of them being found guilty.

The real-life events of these two women--and their cellmates in the Cook County Jail--are in some instances even crazier than what's portrayed in Chicago the musical! Just two years after the events took place, in 1926, the reporter, Maurine Dallas Watkins, published her play titled Chicago which played on Broadway for 127 performances.

The next year, 1927, saw a silent film adaptation of Watkin's play, and In 1954, Ginger Rogers played the title role of Roxie Hart in a film. It was not until 1975, fifty years after the source material was published, that Bob Fosse directed and choreographed Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville.

(left) Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner at the Cook County Jail. The inspiration for Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly. Photo by The Chicago Tribune, 1924.

(right) Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera play Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly on Broadway in 1975.