Chicago - A Musical Vaudeville (and Inspiration) The central premise of Chicago is a satire on the corruption of the criminal justice system and the concept of the “celebrity criminal”. What is also unique about Chicago is that it breaks the fourth wall and directly addresses the audience; through a book and libretto performed as vaudeville acts. It was co-writer Fred Ebb's idea to tell the story through a variety of vaudeville acts, not only to establish period but also create the metaphor of show business as life. (In fact the show's title has a double meaning because there was an actual vaudeville theatre called The Chicago.) The story of Chicago is told in the language of vaudeville, with almost every song in the style of a specific vaudeville performer or tradition. (Wikipedia lists a bunch of them - for instance: Velma is based on Texas Guinan, Mama on Sophie Tucker and Amos on Bert Williams.) In 1919, there were about nine hundred operating vaudeville houses in America, but by 1931, there was only one left – the Palace in New York City. Chicago is set in 1924, during vaudeville’s heyday. The idea of Roxie and Velma becoming vaudeville stars because of their crimes was only a slight exaggeration of reality. Anyone who was famous – for any reason – could be a vaudeville star. Understanding the foundation of the show has been instrumental in our team’s vision for Lyric’s production of Chicago - A Musical Vaudeville. While learning about the history of vaudeville, I have learned that there was a successful formula most vaudeville houses performed by, and wasn't very surprised to see many of these same "acts" appear throughout the script of Chicago. Our vision for each musical number is centered upon the vaudeville acts they were written after, and will be choreographed in the traditional Fosse style. Our orchestra will be located on stage, as was often done in vaudeville houses, and with the help of lights, costumes and set design, we hope to bring the audience and cast back to the 1920’s world of jazz, prohibition, guns and jail houses. (Sources: Wikipedia, Deconstructing Harold Hill: An Insider's Guide to Musical Theatre by Scott Miller, & A History of The Musical - Vaudeville by John Kenrick)