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Last Chicago show tonight

Inspired by a true story and based on a 1924 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Chicago is now the longest running Broadway musical in the West End theatre history. In the past 10 years, the musical has seen over 16,000 performances and entertained over 18 million theatre lovers all over the world.

The show depicts the story of Velma Kelly, a vaudeville megastar-turned-murderer, and Roxie Hart, a fame-seeker and manipulative chorus girl, as they spend their time flitting around courtrooms and prison cells and pursuing media attention and dreams of limelight.

The musical, which won more than 50 international awards, was also made famous by the movie with the same name, starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta Jones and René Zwelleger. Unlike the movie though, the theatre show is a lot simpler, concentrating on the music and dancing and keeping lights, stage design and costumes to a minimum.

Lead actor Tom Wopat explained that one of the reasons of the show's popularity is that it deals with very contemporary American issues, such as media manipulation. 'Because of celebrity trials that happened in the last few years, such as OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson or former US president Bill Clinton, the story of Chicago really strikes a chord with the American people," said the actor.

Roz Ryan, the actress who plays the role of a prison matron, added that, during the show, “We invite you to our prison house and we keep you there until we finish with you."

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