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For next time (4/19): View Annie Hall

Monday, April 12, 2010

2002


The musical Chicago is based
on a play of the same name by
reporter
Maurine Dallas Watkins
(July 27, 1896 - August 10, 1969),
who had been assigned to
cover the 1924 trials of
murderesses Beulah Annan
and Belva Gaertner for the
Chicago Tribune.


The original 1975 Broadway
production ran for a total of
936 performances. Bob
Fosse choreographed the
original production, and his
style is strongly identiﬁed
with the show.


Innovative and
highly stylized
choreographer.

He utilized the idea of
subtext and gave his
dancers something to
Bob Fosse (June 23, 1927 – think about during
September 23, 1987) was a their numbers. He
musical theater choreographer and also began the trend
director, and a ﬁlm director. He won
an unprecedented eight Tony of allowing lighting to
Awards for choreography, as well inﬂuence his work and
as one for direction, and received direct an audiencesʼ
the Academy Award for Best attention to certain
Director in 1972 for Cabaret.
things.

Chicago's 1996 Broadway
revival holds the record for
the longest-running
musical revival (now
approaching 6,000
performances)


Bob Fosse:

“The time to sing is when your
emotional level is too high to just
speak anymore, and the time to
dance is when your emotions are
just too strong to only sing about
how you feel.”


Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining
music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The
emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love,
anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated
through the words, music, movement and technical
aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole.

-----Essentially an American evolution from classic
opera


The musical film is a film
genre in which several songs
sung by the characters are
interwoven into the narrative.
The songs are used to advance
the plot or develop the film's
characters.


Many of the ﬁrst “talkies” were musicals:


In the ’30’s and ’40’s and early ’50’s musicals were at
their height


In the late ’50’s & ’60’s movie musical were almost
exclusively adaptations from the theatre


Contemporary music styles of the Baby-Boomer
generation and beyond did not translate
particularly well to musical theatre and even
worse to ﬁlm musicals.

In addition, the traditional format of “book”
musicals was a difﬁcult challenge in the 70’s and
’80’s.


Emerging potential.......1996

Evita


The ﬁrst ﬁlm musical success in the new millenium
was:

2001

The success of Moulin Rouge ushered in
Chicago in 2002.
......explores the themes of
celebrity and scandal in
Jazz age Chicago.
Directed and
choreographed by Rob
Marshall, (former
collaborator of Sam
Mendez)and adapted for
film by screenwriter Bill
Condon, Chicago won six
Academy Awards in 2003,
including Best Picture. The
film was the first musical
film to win the Best Picture
Oscar since Oliver! (1968).

Why did it work?
It established and maintained a strong metaphor that
drove the characters and story line.

It moved......strong pacing.

It utilized exceptional transitions.
Rather than engaging the traditional device of
the book musical it took a different ploy:

--All the musical numbers evolved from
Roxie’s imagination...establishing a
contrast to the reality of the situation.


Opening:
From Roxy’s
perspective-

Gives us a lot
of
information-

Poses a lot
of
questions-

What does Roxy want?

Strong
Transitions:


The MacGuffin

.....a plot device
that grabs our
attention and
drives the
action


The only moral character in the ﬁlm?

Legend: Chita Rivera

More envy for Velma Mama Transition


Murderer’s Row........

Katalin Hulinski...the Hungarian murderess


Changes
in Roxie

Katalin’s
Transitions

Summation


The Verdict


Consider Chicago as as satirical treatment
of the following themes. Share your
thoughts

'celebrity'

'scandal'

'corruption'


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