Chicago is a satirical play that is best known today as the inspiration for the 1975 stage musical of the same name. It is based on two unrelated 1924 court cases involving two women, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, who were both suspected and later acquitted for murder. Maurine Dallas Watkins had covered the trials as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and the corrupt, farcical nature of the antics in the courtroom inspired her to portray the Chicago justice system on stage. The play centers around Roxie Hart, a young, married floozy who has just murdered her lover. Sent to the Cook County Jail, she meets the other inmates on murderer’s row and awaits her trial. In a city where the press is in cahoots with the legal system, Roxie’s case becomes a study in how to manipulate the system through a string of lies and perfectly posed photos in the newspapers.
Chicago guide sections
