Why "A Musical Vaudeville"?
by Catherine Coke, director
Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville is a fascinating journey through American theatre history in many ways. Consider its title, A Musical Vaudeville. What does that mean?
Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville is a fascinating journey through American theatre history in many ways. Consider its title, A Musical Vaudeville. What does that mean?
In addition to Gwen Verdon's wanting a starring role in a new musical and asking her husband, Bob Fosse, to acquire the rights for the play Chicago, that creative team in 1975 saw an opportunity to recognize and pay homage to the Jazz Age and the Vaudeville shows of the 1920s.
Vaudeville emerged as the popular, mass theatrical entertainment in the 1880s and continued through the 1930s. A typical show incorporated a variety of unrelated acts; these acts included comedians, classical and popular musicians, singers, dancers, circus and animal acts, lecturers, impersonators, and an assortment of other performers. Vaudeville shows typically included nine to thirteen acts per performance, and the shows were performed several-to-many times per day.
The height of Vaudeville’s popularity came in the ‘teens and ‘20s, during the Jazz Age before “moving pictures” hit the scene. Stars emerging from the Vaudeville stage included such luminaries as W.C. Fields, Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Burns & Allen, Al Jolson, Fanny Brice, and Eddie Cantor, and in later years, Bob Hope, Abbott and Costello, Cary Grant, Judy Garland, Milton Berle, and The Three Stooges.
The height of Vaudeville’s popularity came in the ‘teens and ‘20s, during the Jazz Age before “moving pictures” hit the scene. Stars emerging from the Vaudeville stage included such luminaries as W.C. Fields, Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Burns & Allen, Al Jolson, Fanny Brice, and Eddie Cantor, and in later years, Bob Hope, Abbott and Costello, Cary Grant, Judy Garland, Milton Berle, and The Three Stooges.
The Jazz Age of the ‘20s, coinciding with the era of Prohibition, gave rise to many Vaudevillians and other performers populating the speakeasies, supper clubs, and nightclubs of the time.
John Kander (Music), Fred Ebb (Book, Lyrics) and Fosse (Book, Direction, Choreography) were keenly aware of the contributions of this era and decided to structure Chicago based on the acts of Vaudeville shows and nightclub acts. As well, they loosely based the show’s characters on real entertainers from Vaudeville and the other popular nightspots: Roxie resembles Helen Morgan; Velma, Texas Guinan; Mama, Sophie Tucker; Billy, Ted Lewis; and Amos, Bert Williams. The also payed homage to other performers in their musical stylings such as Eddie Cantor in “Me and My Baby” and Florenz Ziegfeld’s elaborately staged Follies in “All I Care About is Love.”
Chicago is both a celebration and a skewering indictment of American celebrity -- enjoyable, entertaining, and a bit dark as well.
Performances are Wednesday & Thursday, November 4 & 5 at 5PM; Friday & Saturday, November 6 & 7 at 7PM; and, Sunday, November 8 at 2PM. Performances are free for students, faculty, staff, and TAP Members. For the general public, tickets are $5. Reservations can be made online at USN.org/musicals, and they are greatly encouraged as audience seating will be limited.
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Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.