Special Reports

Inside the Penultimate Fosse/Verdon, Where Bob and Gwen Bring Chicago to Broadway

Guests in tonight’s episode included Bianca Marroquín, Tyler Hanes, and Danny Burstein.

Tyler Hanes as Jerry Orbach and Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon rehearsing "We Both Reached for the Gun" as part of Chicago on Fosse/Verdon.
Tyler Hanes as Jerry Orbach and Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon rehearsing "We Both Reached for the Gun" as part of Chicago on Fosse/Verdon.
(© Nicole Rivelli/FX)

Episode 7 — the penultimate chapter — of Fosse/Verdon aired tonight on FX, and it gave us a backstage pass to the team bringing the beloved musical Chicago to Broadway.

Appropriately titled "Nowadays," after the Kander and Ebb song, the episode found Gwen (Michelle Williams) trying to assert her own vision to the production, which challenged the increasingly dark vision that Bob (Sam Rockwell) was trying to impose on the material. The episode, directed by Thomas Kail and written by Joel Fields and Steven Levenson, also featured a re-creation of the original, elaborate, two-level Chicago set that earned designer Tony Walton a Tony nomination for Best Scenic Design in 1976. (They also do a fine job of re-creating Patricia Zipprodot's Tony-nominated costumes.)

Broadway stars in the episode in longtime Chicago on Broadway veteran Bianca Marroquín, who returned to play Chita Rivera, Tyler Hanes (Cats), who guest starred as original Chicago leading man Jerry Orbach, Matt Wall (My Fair Lady) and A.J. Holmes (The Book of Mormon), who took on the roles of Fred Ebb and John Kander, and upcoming Moulin Rouge! The Musical star Danny Burstein, who played the role of Dr. Littman.

In case you missed it, watch a clip here: