Synopses & Reviews
Jake Callahan, exhalting in his great fortune at finding the story of "the most beautiful murderess," precisely characterizes Watkinss satirical take on murder and its aftermatha 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 Pygmalions statue. She becomes, as Thomas H. Pauly points out in his introduction, a "tabloid Cinderella."
Review
"This ones got the makins: wine, woman, jazz, a lover," says Jake Callahan, a reporter in Maurine A. Watkinss Chicago, a Broadway smash hit in 1927.
Synopsis
This captivating volume includes the full text of the Broadway smash hit Chicago and 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.
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.