PHOTO FLASH! Original 1975 Broadway production of Bob Fosse's CHICAGO!- Page 2

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 7:33pm

Yes, VERY cool indeed! Thank you for the memorabilia, brody!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 7:33pm

(I don't even know who Jody Arias is, except for the fact that it's a name in the media--and my main connection to OJ's trial was that I was annoyed it pre-empted soap operas for so long--soap fans still see it as the start of the slow death of the genre.)

I would agree with you--at least based on all the second hand experience I have with the original staging including those out of town home movies. I think--as All That Jazz seemed to spell out--much of that cynicism was based on Fosse's interpretation (for all I know the book's re-writes were as well since he obviously worked closely with Ebb on those.) You get glimpses of it in Pippin as well, despite the material. But what a glittering diamond despite that--I think the revival's staging's brilliance isn't just that it happened in a post-OJ world, but also by keeping the Encores staging, more or less, and presenting it as a fun, adult cabaret concert, the audience is made less complicent and able to appreciate it more.

(From my own personal experience, I remember when I was 16 and the tour with D'Amboise came to Vancouver my dad got tickets for my mother and I--and I was nervous because my mom back then had a lot of issues with Fosse's work, which she found to wallow too much in decadence and sleaze--and the revival turned her around. I don';t think the original production would have...)

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 7:52pm

Eric, almost every American with a TV knows who Jody Arias is, even those who don't watch the actual trial. She's virtually unavoidable--which is weird because the crime isn't even a "who done it"; she's confessed to the killing and is now claiming self-defense.

I don't know if you get the same degree of saturation in Canada. If not, count your blessings.

Of course the musical CHICAGO is based on a play from the 1920s, so true crime as entertainment isn't anything new.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 7:58pm

No--look at the basis for most of the 1800's "Penny Dreadfuls."

Gaveston, I'm sure I'm just obtuse--I don't read the paper exceptthe arts or lifestyles segments, turn off the radio whenever a newsbreak happens, etc. Canadian media is dominated by American media--so I don't think it's just about my location. I'm resisting the urge to google her (his?) name though.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 7:59pm

PM if you're curious. I'll give you the one-paragraph version.

(I trust you know I wasn't taking pot shots at Canada. The last time I was there, TV was still dominated by the CBC.)

Updated On: 3/8/13 at 07:59 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 8:02pm

I am curious but as I've said--I can't PM people on here :P So PM me...

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/8/13 at 8:26pm

Done. Bottom line: the Arias defense has meant that Americans have heard more about anal sex than ever before on TV.

If only Fosse were still alive! What source material for him!

[goldenboy]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 9:46am

Thanks Brody Fosse.
I can't believe no on asked this.

Who is your mother and which one was she???

[devonian.t]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 10:14am

so if your mom was in the ensemble, are you implying something about your paternity with your screen name?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/16/13 at 11:15am

Since you've said you're of Argentinean descent, Brody, methinks I can guess which one your mother is...but I won't say

[Glitter]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 10:03pm

I have some more to add, both onstage and backstage! excuse my cluelessness, but how do I post pix here? :P

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 10:35pm

upload to tinypic.com

[Glitter]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 10:52pm

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Updated On: 3/26/14 at 10:52 PM

[Glitter]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 11:14pm

hope that worked! thank you, ljay889 :)

[tom2000a]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 11:16pm

I saw the original. It was incredible. I still have the same souvenir booklet. What happened that year was that Chorus Line was such a huge smash it sucked all the air out of the room. Chicago just got passed over. It was a far better production than what is on Broadway now.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 11:22pm

Wow! Those are great pics. Thanks for sharing.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 11:31pm

It has an 8mm film sort of feeling to the production. One thing: I really hate the costumes of the chorus boys....not very flattering in my opinion.
1975 Chicago

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/27/14 at 3:40am

You don't like the guys' thighs?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/27/14 at 9:38am

I find it interesting that people speak of the original production as if it was this flop that was quickly buried by A Chorus Line. It did run for just over two years, which a lot of shows would kill to achieve.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/27/14 at 1:11pm

But didn't it struggle for a lot of that run? I agree it obviously wasn't a flop, but it must have been seen as a disappointment on some level, despite movie interest. It was not tried in London (they got their own Chicago without Fosse that *did* flop--of course Pippin was a flop there too so maybe Fosse had no interest in London.) I think it didn't help that the cast album took a relatively long time to be reissued on CD (first by small label, Bay City and then finally by Arista--I believe it's now been folded into the Broadway Masterworks label.)

[Glitter]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 12:23am

Here are a few more I found in a box...some with Gwen, some with Liza. Sorry for some bad scanning! I know I've got more SOMEWHERE....driving me nertz!

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Updated On: 4/9/14 at 12:23 AM

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 8:23am

The original production remains my all-time top favorite theatrical experience. It won me over as soon as Chita ascended on that elevator, stepped onto the stage, paused, gave us all a knowing smile, and then launched into "All That Jazz." Verdon, Rivera and Orbach have never been bettered.

I have the souvenir program from 1975 buried somewhere in my apartment. If it has more pics I'll scan them and post here.

[felipenor]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 2:16pm

I find it sad that we're unable to watch now those great productions that were put out before and now live through some pictures and the memories of the people who saw them. I realy believe art was meant to be kept for generations to come, but with musicals (and theater in general) it seems it's never going to happen.

[Glitter]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 5:31pm

in many ways, that's the magic of theatre and what sets this apart from other artforms. Live performance is called "live performance" for a reason....films, photos, bootlegs etc can give us a pretty good idea of what it was like, but it's still the medium refracted through another medium.

Anyway :) There are photos and videos of Chicago out there, most of which appear on this thread! I think it's easy enough to "get" the show this way, and I hope between BrodyFosse123, myself, and whoever else contributes memories or more material, the documentation of 1975 Chicago will live on :)



Updated On: 4/9/14 at 05:31 PM

[felipenor]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 6:17pm

Yeah, I know about the "live experience" thing, but 40 years after its debut very little of Chicago's original production survives and some people can rely on their memories to help count the story, but what about 50 years from now? And Chicago is one of the "big" shows, lucky enough to have had a revival and a film adaption, way better than can be said for most other musicals.
I just find it said to think that when future generations want to know more about Fosse's production of Chicago, it will be little more than a handful of stills and a page on wikipedia.