When Chicago opened in the fall of 1996 at the Ambassador Theater it was praised by audiences and critics alike. This November it will become the longest running revival in Broadway history. To commemorate this occasion a special performance will take place on November 14, 2006 featuring the original cast as well as many of the shows well-known alumni including Brooke Shields, Melanie Griffith, John O’Hurley and Chita Rivera.

This show, based on the play by Maurine Dallas, first opened on Broadway in 1975. The legendary Bob Fosse wrote the book for the musical and also directed and choreographed. The original cast included Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly and Jerry Orbach, of televisions Law and Order fame, in the role of attorney Billy Flynn. At first the original production did not have as much success as the revival. It had the misfortune of opening the same year as The Chorus Line which didn’t help at either the box office or the Tony Awards. The show was already on the verge of closing when Verdon inhaled a feather during a performance which resulted in a throat infection. The producers decided to cut their losses when Liza Minnelli offered to play the role in place of Verdon. Minnelli’s run lasted only a month, but is credited with the production continuing until 1977.

The show is set in the 1920’s at the Cook County Jail where Velma Kelly is awaiting her acquittal for shooting her cheating husband and sister. Velma is the media’s top story until Roxie Hart is arrested for killing her lover. Velma is not happy that Roxie has not only stolen her spotlight, but her lawyer as well. Both women vie for the media attention in hopes that when they are released they will become the next big thing. Unfortunately their fame is short lived when the next murderer-of-the-week comes along.

Chicago has won more Tony awards than any other revival including Best Musical Revival, Best Choreographer and Best Actress for Bebe Neuwirth. Ms. Neuwirth, best known for her role as Lilith Sternin-Crane in the eighties and nineties sitcoms Cheers and Frasier, starred as Velma Kelly in the original revival, and will return in December as Roxie Hart. This will mark the first time an actress will have played both starring roles in the production. She will appear through March.

A big screen version of the musical was created in 2002 and starred Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones and Richard Gere. The film gained much success. It even took home the Oscar for Best Picture while Zeta-Jones won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Velma Kelly. The movie did a great job of recreating the Broadway production and featured many of the same songs including one of the shows more popular tunes; “All That Jazz”.

In the past ten years, Chicago’s cast has included many well-known actors. The production often casts stars that one would not always consider a Broadway performer. It usually seems to work since the show has seen much success in the past decade, and is showing no signs of slowing down.