Chicago The Musical Announced For Auckland & Christchurch

Directed by Michael Hurst

A nightclub singer, a double-murderess, a smooth-talking lawyer and a cell block of sin….. so the story unfolds in the award-winning Broadway and West End stage show Chicago The Musical, coming to Auckland and Christchurch this July and August.

The global smash-hit stage show Chicago the Musical is coming to Auckland and Christchurch this July and August, in a spectacular new production that brings all the glitz, glamour, and scandal of 1920s Chicago to life like never before.

The brand-new production, directed by Kiwi creative institution Michael Hurst will play at the Bruce Mason Centre from 31 July for a strictly limited season then transfer to the Isaac Theatre Royal for seven performances only, from 20 August.

The fully-professional cast will feature international and New Zealand singers, dancers and actors, telling a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz, with one showstopping song after another including Razzle Dazzle, Cell Block Tango and All That Jazz; and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen.

“The most exciting musical of its generation”
– THE TIMES, UK

Enter a world of jazz, crime, and razzle dazzle at Chicago the Musical. Set in the Prohibition-era 1920s and based on real events, this satirical show follows wannabe jazz age stars who get their fame not just for their singing or dancing talent, but for committing murders that make sensationalised headlines all across the city of Chicago.

Chicago the Musical centres on Roxie Hart, a chorus girl who dreams of being a vaudeville star. She's cheating on her sweet but dim-witted husband named Amos — and when her lover tries to end their affair, she kills him in a fit of rage. Getting thrown in the Cook County Jail seems like a surefire end to Roxie's dreams of stardom, but her sentence ends up being her ticket to fame.

Her lawyer, the smooth-talking Billy Flynn, helps her concoct a defence that earns the press' sympathy and gets her face on the cover of every newspaper in Chicago. And while in jail, Roxie meets Velma Kelly, an established vaudeville star who murdered her husband and sister. The women begin as rivals, as Roxie seeks to steal Velma's lawyer (Billy) and her spotlight, but they come around to an unlikely alliance.

Winner of six Tonys, two Oliviers, one Grammy, two BAFTAs and six Academy Awards, plus thousands of standing ovations, Chicago the Musical is the longest-running musical revival in Broadway history and truly is “The sharpest, slickest show on the block” (The Times, UK).

“Still the hottest show in town”
– THE INDEPENDENT, UK

Chicago the Musical is a spectacle full of social satire, intrigue, love, betrayal, rivalry and friendship, a pageant of music and dance that adroitly shifts between reality and fantasy, as Roxie Hart’s world moves from prison to the courtroom to the stage.

Producer Ben McDonald says “Chicago the Musical is one of the world’s most popular musicals. Unbelievably sexy, sassy and sensational, this musical thrills and chills, which is why it continues to tour the world after so many years and has been applauded by millions of people. It would be a crime for you to miss it.”

Chicago the Musical was created by the legendary Broadway trio of John Kander (music), Fred Ebb (book/lyrics) and Bob Fosse (co-author, original director and choreographer) in 1975, and was based on a 1926 Broadway play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a journalist from the Chicago Tribune who had covered the sensational trials of two women, both of whom were accused of killing their lovers whilst under the influence of drink and jazz.

Auckland
Bruce Mason Centre
From 31 July
Tickets from Ticketmaster
The Auckland season is supported by Auckland Live

Christchurch
Isaac Theatre Royal
From 20 August
Tickets from Ticketek

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