Chicago 50 - No. 40 - When Velma Takes the Stand

“‘When Velma Takes the Stand’ and the entire courtroom scene is an imitation of the many courtroom comedy sketches, a staple of vaudeville and burlesque. ‘When Velma Takes the Stand’ is also modeled on the many vaudeville acts that showcased the latest dance crazes, in this case, the Charleston. Denounced by moralists as the devil’s dance, the dance from hell, and other similar names, the Charleston found its roots in African dance and became popular in the American South around the turn of the century.

Fosse’s use of the Charleston in ‘Velma Takes the Stand’ and in other numbers in Chicago is not just a tribute to period dance but also a reminder of the moral climate in America in the middle 1920s – a climate in which anything popular and fun was denounced as immoral and dangerous. That Velma would express herself and her ‘innocence’ in terms of the Charleston only further underlines her position as moral subversive. It also provides a kind of shorthand when Fred Casely appears during the trial, dancing the Charleston as he talks to Roxie, underlining his (false) role as ‘corrupter.’”

—Inside CHICAGO Background and Analysis by Scott Miller

Chita performs in 1975 original production

Kirsten Childs performs in 1985 in Atlantic City with original choreography and costumes.