Chicago: With the Chicago Tribune Articles that Inspired It [Paperback]

Maurine Watkins (Author), Thomas H. Pauly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 1997

Jake Callahan, exhalting in his great fortune at finding the story of "the most beautiful murderess," precisely characterizes Watkins’s satirical take on murder and its aftermath—a view she formed while covering two similar and equally sensational murder trials for the Chicago Tribune.

Watkins opens this comic drama with a brutal dramatization of the same situation the women in her articles faced: a vengeful Roxie has slain her lover for mistreating her. And then the fun begins. A boring, run-of-the-mill murderess until her frank confession creates an opportunity for profit, Roxie begins a transformation to rival that of Pygmalion’s statue. She becomes, as Thomas H. Pauly points out in his introduction, a "tabloid Cinderella."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This one’s got the makin’s: wine, woman, jazz, a lover," says Jake Callahan, a reporter in Maurine A. Watkins’s Chicago, a Broadway smash hit in 1927.

About the Author

Maurine A. Watkins was a Chicago Tribune reporter whose play was derived from her bright, humorous coverage of the murder trials of two women remarkably like Roxie.

Thomas H. Pauly is a professor of English at the University of Delaware and the author of a critical study of the career of Elia Kazan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (October 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809321297
• ISBN-13: 978-0809321292
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,521,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...And All That Jazz, March 11, 1999

By 

John Forkner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicago: With the Chicago Tribune Articles that Inspired It (Paperback)

"This one's got the makin's: wine, woman, jazz, a lover."

The hugely popular Kander and Ebb musical, CHICAGO, meets its grandparent in Maurine Watkin's 1927 hit, CHICAGO (a.k.a. PLAY BALL).

For fans of the musical, this book provides a fascinating and almost documentary-style look at the real-life inspirations for Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly along with the original CHICAGO script. Also included are copies of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE articles Watkins wrote that not only made celebrities out of the two murderesses, but inspired the writing of CHICAGO itself.

CHICAGO fans will enjoy picking out lines and situations in the script that inspired the songs. But more than just a fun diversion, Watkins' script is a powerful reminder of how often we treat serious trials and news stories as entertainment and how manipulative and influential the media is. When reading the script, one can't help but recall O.J. Simpson's trial when Billy Flynn arranges a media circus for his client, and compare Monica Lewinsky's media make-over to Roxie Hart's.

Watkins leaves us with a scenario that sounds almost familiar. The Jazz Slayer, Roxie Hart, is found not guilty. Gunshots are heard down the hall. Another murder! This one worse than all the others, but what a story! The news reporters rush from the room and Roxie, who plans to use her celebrity status to become a vaudeville star, is instantly yesterdays news. Reporter Jake Callahan drags "Machine-Gun Rosie", as he has dubbed her, into the courtroom and despite her cries that the media leave her alone, ("No! I don't want in the papers!") Jake tells her, "Come on, sister, yuh gotta play ball: this is Chicago!"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fablous for Dramaturgical Work, January 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Chicago: With the Chicago Tribune Articles that Inspired It (Paperback)

This book is amazing if you are looking to find some history on the play. I have seen the non-musical produced in Ashland and will be directing it myself in the next couple of years. This book includes the full original script, which is amazing in itself, but also includes a fantastic introduction my Thomas H. Pauly. The articles are a joy to read because you really get a sense of Watkins' style of writing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful history of what became a classic musical, July 2, 1999

By 

Brett Hopgood (Adelaide, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicago: With the Chicago Tribune Articles that Inspired It (Paperback)

Watkins' days a court reporter inspired her to write the script for what was to become, itself, the inspiration for one of the best musicals of our time. The daily reports from the court trials of the real life muderessess in Chicago were certainly very telling. The fact that the women who escaped death row or life sentences were white women, society women, beautiful women, and most poignantly, women who killed their lovers - not their husbands.This reminded me of how people get caught up in the soap opera of life and love to glamorise all events. If you are a lover of the musical, this is an interesting book to read.