by Lorain Blanken

Created on: February 22, 2007

Chicago struck me as a whirlwind of dreams, deceit and corruption all wrapped up in a sultry package of feather boas and neon lights. The themes within Chicago rise and fall as tides, reappearing amongst each other to pose before us the raw, ruthless and condescending human nature. For this purpose, Chicago provides two platforms that always bring out the true nature and intention of people, guaranteed to be cut-throat and dramatic: Showbiz and the American legal system. These are interesting dynamics to share the stage, and while it may seem an odd match at first, it becomes quite clear how much they both depend on the smoke and mirrors of those who have put themselves in just the right places to manipulate it.

Following the story of the demure, hopeful Roxie, we stumble through her pitfalls and accomplishments along her road to Vaudeville. Seeing things as they appear through her eyes, we are leant to give her pause and sympathy, even as she is dripping with lies and finally a full-blown ego. We see her first as the hopeful fan, gazing longingly at Velma Kelly, envious of her freedom to flaunt her sexuality and talent openly and receive such adoration for it. Roxie reaps justice as her own, discarding those she believes to be lying to her or useless in her plight for fame. At one climactic point she is so taken with herself that she nearly denies the help of Billy Flynn, basking in her fifteen minutes of fame and nearly blinded to the fact that she is close to looking death in the face.

The injustice in this work is both frequent and fully accepted by the characters, even as the consequences made blatant and the innocent prosecuted. This is an every-man-for-himself atmosphere and there seems to be only a candy-coated ending for only the most deceitful, those who came out ahead of the game for all their viciousness. Both entertainment and judicial standings are unmasked, stripped of their honorable, positive exterior. We are looking inside these two institutions, and the gears are indeed dirty, greasy and grinding against each other to make it all work. For those on the outside, unaware, it all appears to be polish and order.

Chicago certainly makes the most of it's musical endeavors. Not only did the music emphasize points of importance and character development in the story, but it also moved the story along, becoming an integral part of the play. This added another dimension of potential to the music, leaving the audience to anticipate musical numbers to

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