Thomas Stilwell

American Musical Theater History

Professor Daniel Egan
Chicago: Vaudeville in the Modern Era
When the Kander, Ebb, and Fosse written Chicago was first presented to the general
public in the summer of 1975 at the 46th Street Theater, it did not seem destined to become the
smash hit musical that would define a musical genre and become one of the longest running
revivals of all time. (Gans) The Broadway-going public was not ready to accept the criminal-ascelebrity theme of the show, even after the tumultuous progression of yellow journalism in the
post-Watergate era. However, hope for Kander and Ebbs vaudeville spectacle was renewed with
the 1996 Broadway revival, when audiences were more willing to accept the constant destruction
of the fourth wall and the reflection of current celebrity crime events, like the O.J. Simpson trial,
with musical flair and cynical candor.
Though true commercial success came late for Chicago, Kander and Ebbs employment
of the vaudeville style in vignettes and the use of musical manipulation to enhance perception of
the characters probity was always closely weaved with the show. Ironically, though the more
successful of the two productions was the one without the word vaudeville in the title (it had
been lopped off for a more sleeker Chicago: The Musical), the scores aptness at handling the
vaudeville style with a just-the-right-amount-of-frivolity approach was what allowed the
characters to truly shine through and become more than caricatures. The musical heavily relies
on the use of vignettes and stepping-out moments for characters to display both genuine and
manufactured emotions directly to the audience. The characters theatrical awareness is
constantly brought into question by these songs, and a general breaking down of the barrier

between actor, character, and character as actor is a strong motif presented through the score.
The vaudeville musical style is also used to contrast the tongue-in-cheek performances of
bombastic, self-aware songs and the genuine character-to-character presentations of vaudeville
songs, as in I Cant Do It Alone. This theme of character awareness is further presented
through rhythmic melody lines that tend to conjunct with the orchestral arrangement to either
convey a genuine perspective or to put forward a shaped sort of musical speech, while always
fabricating a mood of meta-theatrical vaudevillian spectacle.
Kander and Ebb most prominently implement this concept of vignettes in order to
provide insight into their characters. These stepping out moments provide an opportunity for the
characters to speak directly to the audience and show their role as a commanding influence of the
plot. One of the first instances of a firmly footed characterization occurs in Matron Mama
Mortons decree in When Youre Good to Mama. The boisterous introduction by the orchestra,
specifically led by the prominent jazz trumpets, provides an immediate insight into the role of
Mama in the prison. Thus, when she begins singing the verse in a slower, coyer tempo at
Measure 5, there is no mistaking her intentions for anything virginal. Her melody at beat four of
measures 5, 7, and 9 serves to provide the dominant for the following chord, maintaining her
tight grip over the orchestration. Mamas ability to both caesura and control the progression of
chords in the accompaniment until this point already illustrate her as a force to be reckoned with,
who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. The abrupt key change at Measure 14 from
A to F# signifies the sudden shift in mood of the song from the legato verse to the overtly sexual
AABA section of the song. Even the voicing of her melody line on the beat beginning at measure
18 shows her command of the song and the certainty of this motto within her principles. If she
had started her melody line on the offbeat with two-eighth notes for Got a, the song would

have a much more disingenuous feel to it, but it is this precise contrast with other offbeat songs
that make When Youre Good to Mama a prime example of a genuine vaudevillian solo. Even
with a seemingly opposite message to it, A Little Bit of Good, the vignette characterizing
Mary Sunshine, shows the characters command over the song to present in as a sort of anthem.
Mary Sunshine sings most of the pickups (measure 13, etc.) with minimal orchestral
accompaniment and sings on the on beat. In the verse of the song, her very spoken-through
melody line is paired with simple half note block chords to both create humor and tension in the
musical arrangement. The swing tempo of the song does not occur until the main section of the A
(measure 14) and Mary Sunshines aphoristic lyrics indicate that this view she is expounding
upon is inherent to her character, just as Mama Mortons main theme is present within the first
line of her A section.
Furthermore, these anthems serve the musical as whole, showing both women, Mary
Sunshine and Mama Morton, as the spinners of life both inside and outside the walls of prison.
Mama controls what goes on behind the walls for Roxie and Velma, while Mary Sunshine leads
the press core. Yet, both serve as similarly matronly figures for the merry murderesses, trying to
guide the women as best they can, while getting what they can, whether it is money or selfsatisfaction. Both women see the innocence in the young women incarcerated for murdering
lovers, for, as Mama so eloquently puts, they aint never heard of a man being killed who didnt
get what was comin to him. In conjunction with the perspectives exposited by these two
motherly figures, the vaudeville stock character of the sad clown is imparted through Amos in
his lamenting Mister Cellophane. Once again, as in Mary Sunshines musing, the verse of this
song begins with block chords and a spoken-through melody at Measure 13. This both introduces
Amos first solo singing moment and sets up the slow-rag lamenting of the chorus at Measure

37. This song can be discussed alongside the strong, domineering anthems of Mary Sunshine and
Mama because of this section, where the melody line is included in the accompaniment, allowing
it to take on the leitmotif aspect of Amos characterization. Then, the keys modulate multiple
times (measure 107, etc.) to mirror Amos growing frustrations over his wifes lies, almost in an
ironic role reversal from the frustration of Roxie in Funny Honey. His melody line is finally
able to get into a true belting range at Measure 107 to climax the mounting tension within him,
only to fall back to block whole-note chords at Measure 108, characterizing his lack of resolve.
However, these anthem-like vignettes are not the only dominating vaudeville style
employed within the score. Due to the shows subject matter, which relies heavily upon the idea
of Roxie and Velma as aspiring vaudeville stars, it wouldnt be as logical for them to engage in
meta-theatrical soliloquys. Some of the numbers that they perform, like I Cant Do It Alone,
All That Jazz, and Nowadays, are included in the show as character performances. Yet,
ironically, these numbers end up appearing to be the most sincere. Velmas heartfelt plea in I
Cant Do It Alone puts her in her element as an actress, thus stripping away her need to
embellish it with modulations or clever AABA shifts. Though the verse of the song does begin at
Measure 9 in the style of the other, more tongue-in-cheek, solos, the shift into the chorus at
Measure 20 shows a loss of premeditation and an increase in spontaneity and desperation. The
echoing of Velmas melody in the orchestration shows her willingness to try anything new to
convince Roxie through a fluctuating accompaniment. Even the style of music changes with a
belly-roll section at Measure 60 and then a big tambourine section at Measure 66, conveying
Velmas franticness at this point in the musical. The song also does not require as many musical
references to vaudeville because it is meant to be a musical performance within the plot and
thus doesnt need to add an extra meta-theatrical layer.

As a final tug at the heartstrings of the vaudeville tradition, Nowadays provides the
perfect bookend to the musical, adding a final imparted message of iniquity and the propagation
of the jazz culture that Velma introduced in the opening song. The song opens with the adjectival
on-beats of Measures 1, 2, 3, and 4 reinforcing the idea of Velma and Roxies self-satisfaction.
Though both were slightly mentally unstable murderesses, they are able to look back on their
handiwork with fond nostalgia. The chromatic ascension of these lines augments the base C
major chord, building the tension of the lyric to the final tonics of Now-a and the eventual
dissonance of the A on days. Even the fact that this entire first part is in C major and a slower
tempo shows stark contrast with the rest of the show. It seems at this point that Roxie and Velma
have finally learned something and may be able to sing genuinely through the AABA format.
Yet, we are reminded of the swingy, fingers-crossed tone of the show at Measure 6, when the
title line comes in on the off-beat, giving the opportunity for a meditative, winking quarter rest.
Then, finally, at Measure 58, the full off-beat motif makes a comeback to build to the eventual
Hot Honey Rag dance sequence, which brings the mood back to that of the top of the show.
Then, the modulation into D flat at the final melody section at 26R allows the score to
completely erase any suspicion that these two women had become more moral. They may be
more experienced and have lost a bit of youthful naivet, but the return of vaudeville techniques
and themes shows their static qualities as everlasting performers.
It is this quality of the persistent performer is what makes the music and text
relationship of Chicago complex and entertaining. The juxtaposition of performances in the context of
cabaret and the spectacular realm of real life illuminates the social reflection inherent within the show.
Even Billy Flynns character, the seemingly one-dimensional wordsmith, who tap dances his way through
the courtroom, is able to show contradiction between his manufactured persona and his true perspective
with the songs All I Care About and Razzle Dazzle. The latter has his melody line ride on the on-

beat, providing him with his anthem that has proven to be a defining moment for most characters in the
show. The former swings onto the off-beat, presenting Billy as being taken away by the big band sound
and seemingly pulling the words out of thin air. Even within these small rhythmic details, Kander and
Ebb are able to weave the music and text into becoming exactly what the show was originally called: A
Musical Vaudeville. Through the presentation of vaudevillian vignettes and musical deceptions, the
show is able to take on a genre unlike that of most other shows and defines a historical social era under
the umbrella of a musical style.

Works Referenced

Gans, Andrew. "Chicago Revival Becomes Third Longest-Running Show in Broadway History
Dec. 20 - Playbill.com." Chicago Revival Becomes Third Longest-Running Show in
Broadway History Dec. 20 - Playbill.com. Playbill Magazine, 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 02
Oct. 2013.
Kander and Ebb. Chicago Piano/Conductor Score. 1976. (Note: Exact Score referenced may be
produced upon request)
Solman, Paul. "Chicago, The Musical." PBS Online NewsHour. PBS. 30 May 1997. Television.
Transcript.