Theater News

Broadway's Chicago Announces Initiatives for 20th Anniversary Year

The musical will hit a milestone this November.

Original Chicago revival cast members Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Joel Grey, and James Naughton take part in the production's 20th anniversary ad campaign.
Original Chicago revival cast members Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Joel Grey, and James Naughton take part in the production's 20th anniversary ad campaign.
(© Max Vadukul)

The producers of Broadway's Chicago kicked off the show's 20th anniversary year with a celebratory cocktail reception and launch party at the Palm Restaurant. During the festivities, lead producer Barry Weissler announced the initiatives that will lead-up to the official anniversary performance in November 2016 at the Ambassador Theatre.

The 20th anniversary festivities will include a special advertising campaign featuring current and past cast members, as well as the revival's original stars, Tony winners Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Joel Grey, and James Naughton. Photographer Max Vadukul, who shot the show's iconic original ad campaign, returns for this new initiative, which features the tagline "Killing It Worldwide" in a nod to the show's international success.

The 20th anniversary festivities will also include a one-night-only free concert of Kander and Ebb's score, plus Ann Reinking's choreography, on August 31 at SummerStage in Central Park; an exhibition at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center; and the previously announced presentation of the all-female Japanese Takarazuka's Chicago as part of the Lincoln Center Festival July 20-24.

Additionally, six-time Tony Award-winning costume designer William Ivey Long will revisit his designs for the show, with new costumes making their debut in time for the official anniversary performance in November.

Featuring classic tunes by John Kander and Fred Ebb, Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart, a nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media, and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago's slickest criminal lawyer to transform her crime into a barrage of sensational headlines. The revival is directed by Walter Bobbie.

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