Renée Zellweger Catherine Zeta-Jones "Chicago"
Richard Gere Timothy Acuna Queen Latifah Taye Diggs Christine Baranski
Produced by Bob Weinstein Sarah Jessica Parker Craig Zadan Martin Richards Music by John Kander Danny Elfman
Written by Maurine Dallas Watkins Bob Fosse Fred Ebb Bill Condon Directed by Rob Marshall
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US $2.49 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 10:32:37 PST |
Poster For Chicago
Chicago, mid 1920s. Naïve Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) visits a nightclub where star Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) performs, in hopes that her boyfriend Fred Casely will get her a gig as a vaudeville star. Velma is arrested after the show for murdering her adulterous husband as he slept with her sister Veronica. After Roxie realizes that Fred won't help her break into showbusiness, she kills him in a fit of rage and tries to make her simple-minded, kind-hearted husband Amos take the fall. However, the police see through her ruse and Roxie is arrested and sent to Cook County Jail.
Once Roxie arrives and is booked, she is sent to Murderess' Row to await trial, under the care of the corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton, who supplies her girls with cigarettes and other materials if she's paid well enough. Roxie meets Velma in jail as the woman in charge, and learns the stories behind the other women in Murderess' Row. Roxie decides that she wants Velma's lawyer Billy Flynn to get her off, and convinces her husband to talk to him. Billy decides to take Roxie's case and get her off by making her a star.
Flynn and Roxie manipulate the press at a press conference, reinventing Roxie's identity to make Chicago fall in love with her. Roxie becomes the new infamous celebrity of the Cook County Jail, much to Velma's horror and Mama's delight. Velma, desperate to get back into the limelight, tries to persuade Roxie into opening a vaudeville act with her once they get out of jail. Roxie haughtily refuses and mocks Velma, presumably after Velma mocked Roxie earlier. Roxie and Velma become locked in a rivalry to outdo each other in stardom. The tables are turned on both ladies, however, when a new killer named Kitty — a wealthy woman who killed her husband and both of his mistresses — enters the scene.
Roxie manages to steal back attention by claiming to be pregnant, which is falsely confirmed by a doctor, much to Amos' delight; however, nobody notices that he even exists. A Hungarian innmate (who can only speak three words in english, "Not guilty" and "Uh-uh.") is hanged after losing her final appeal, which fuels Roxie's desire to be free. Roxie's trial date approaches, and she and Billy begin to plan their strategy to find her innocent of murder using her star power and sympathy vote. Her trial proceeds and becomes a media spectacle, fed off the sensationalist reports of radio personality Mary Sunshine. The trial goes Roxie's way, until Velma shows up with Roxie's diary and, in exchange for amnesty, reads incriminating entries that Roxie claims to never have written. Using some quick talking, Billy manages to get Roxie off the hook and she is proclaimed innocent. However, Roxie's publicity is short lived: as soon as the trial concludes, the public's attention turns quickly to a new murderess. Roxie leaves the courthouse after discovering that Billy wrote the false diary entries, and sent the journal to Velma to get Miss Kelly off death row. Roxie reveals to Amos she faked her pregnancy for the fame.
With nothing left, Roxie once more sets off to find a stage career, with little success. But she is soon approached by Velma, who is willing to revive a two person act with Roxie. Roxie refuses at first, because of the hatred that they share for each other, but relents. The two murderesses, no longer facing jail time, finally become the enormous successes they have been longing to be (Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag).
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