Cold gin, hot piano

Last weekend, I played for the musical "A New Brain".  That show is over, but I still have some of the melodies stuck in my head.  That may soon change because this weekend, my second musical of the month opens: Chicago. 

Chicago opened on Broadway on November 14, 1996.  By June 1997 the show had won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival and Best Choreography.  In March of 2011, the show has become the 5th longest running in Broadway history, with 5960 performances.  The music, book and lyrics are by the outstanding John Kander and Fred Ebb (who are also the musical forces behind Cabaret and The Kiss of the Spider Woman).  The original director and choreographer for the show was Bob Fosse, though, sadly, he died before the show opened.

Set during Prohibition-era Chicago, the music is mostly ragtime and early jazz, with just enough contemporary injection to make it sound fresh.  And, as I can personally attest, some of the clarinet and piccolo licks are tricky!  I think the original pit calls for at least three reed players (there is a bass clarinet cue in one of my parts), but this production will use just one (so I have consolidated the music from Reed 1 and Reed 2 to cover the really cool stuff.)  Also in the pit are trumpet, trombone, violin, bass, drums, and piano.

I couldn't help but notice that this particular musical has a sinister ending.  I mean, the murderers get away with murder!  The musical is based on a play that was inspired by the murder case and trial of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner in 1924 in Chicago.  The play was written by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins.  Roxie Hart was based on Annan, who was accused of killing a man, then listening to the foxtrot record "Hula Lou" repeatedly before calling her husband.  Velma Kelly is based on Gaertner, a cabaret singer, who was accused of killing a man in her car.  Both women were found not guilty.  The lawyer character, Billy Flynn, is based on the two lawyers who represented the women. 

It's just a noisy hall, where there's a nightly brawl. And all. That. Jazzz!