Chicago the Musical tickets are theater tickets for a musical that is in production at the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway, at the Cambridge Theatre in the West End, and on the North American tour. These productions are the latest for a show that has graced the stage since 1975 at venues throughout the world.
Chicago tickets first sold for the production on June 3, 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre. The show's first title was Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville and ran for 936 performances, closing just over two years later. This first Broadway production famously starred Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly, Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn, and Barney Martin as Amos Hart. Chicago received a mixed catalog of reviews, mainly spurred by the show's style. Chicago the Musical was a Brechtian show, a type of play that hoped not to connect with the audience but cause introspection and critical analysis.
Chicago the Musical tickets eventually were sold for a show that erred more on the side of Bob Fosse starring Liza Minelli as Roxie and Chicago the Musical was well in its way to becoming one of the predominant show on the popular musical stage. The play then crossed the ocean and ran for 600 performances on the West End at Cambridge Theatre.
Chicago truly became a staple in the late 1990s. A Broadway revival in 1996 starred Babe Neuwirth as Velma Ann Reinking as Roxie, Joel Grey as Amos, and James Naughton as Billy. This time around the critics were far more delighted by what they saw. Perhaps the contemporary culture had shifted just enough to accept and celebrate a criminal-as-celebrity theme. Ultimately the revival took home six Tony Awards, a record for a revival.
