The history of the musical Chicago

Over our six week autumn courses we taught “Hot Honey Rag” from the musical Chicago at part our Vintage musicals course, an iconic musical number and a Broadway standard. But, did you know that this musical is actually based on a true story that happened in the 1920s?

In the 1920s several cases arose, which involved women killing their lovers or husbands. The press came really intrigued with these cases, because it seemed that, in Chicago, after a long string of acquittals by Cook County juries of women murderesses, feminine or attractive women could not be convicted. In 1924 Maurine Dallas Watkins was assigned to cover the trials of accused murderers Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the Chicago Tribune, which took a pro-prosecution “hang-them-high” stance, while still presenting the details of these women’s lives.

The Hearst papers, the rival of the Chicago Tribune, were more pro-defendant and employed what were derisively called “sob-sisters”, which were women reporters who focused on the plight attractiveness, redemption, or grace of the women defendants.

But regardless of stance, the press covered several of the women as celebrities.

Watkins columns documenting the trials of Annan and Gaertner were so popular that she decided to write a play about them, which was the model of the musical adaptation.

Beulah Annan was the model for Roxie Hart.
She was only 23 years old when she was accused of the murder of Harry Kalstedt in April 1924. The Tribune wrote that she played the song “Hula Lou” for two hours before calling her husband to say she killed a man who "tried to make love to her". She was found not guilty in May 1924.

Belva Gaertner was Watkins inspiration for Velma Kelly.
In 1924 the body of Walter Law was discovered slumped over the steering wheel of Gaertner’s abandoned car and two police officers testified that they had seen a woman getting into the car and shortly after that they had heard a gunshot. She was also acquitted in 1924.

Even the lawyers William Scott Stewart and W. W. O’Brien were models for the composite character in Chicago “Billy Flynn”.

Bob Fosse

In the 1960s, Gwen Verdon read the play and asked her husband, Bob Fosse, about the possibility of creating a musical adaptation. In 1969 the rights were sold to producer Richard Fryer, Verdon, and Fosse. Fosse directed the musical and choreographed it as well.

Bob Fosse was born in Chicago as a son of vaudevillian, which led to his early start as a dancer and in theatre.
After growing up in cabaret night clubs, the nature of Fosse’s signature dance style was sexually suggestive; this also influenced the choreography for the musical Chicago. Three of his dance trademarks included the turned-in knees, sideways shuffling and the jazz hands.

The whole Chicago revival features new choreography “in the style of Bob Fosse”.

The song “Hot Honey Rag” is a recreation of Fosse’s original dance, originally called “Keep it Hot”. He made the performance a compendium of all the steps he learned as a young man working in vaudeville and burlesque.

Here you can see our Vintage Musical Group performing our version to the song “Hot Honey Rag”.

What's in a name?

Its happened, we've changed our name! Elena and I began four years ago with the name ‘I Charleston Brighton’ and it will always have a special place in our hearts. But to understand why we changed I Charleston to MyCharleston you need to know the story of how we began.

Elena and I performing Charleston together for the first time in 2014

The First I Charleston flyer design

Elena and I became instant fans of Charleston when we performed in a Charleston troupe for a one off show in 2013. We decided we wanted to continue Charleston dancing and whilst looking for a project we discovered 'I Charleston the World.’ These charming films showcased dancers doing the Charleston in iconic locations around their city. So we decided to put Brighton on the map! The problem was no one was running regular Charleston classes in Brighton, so we brushed up our moves, made a flyer and I Charleston Brighton began.

We had no idea what it would develop into but from the first class we ran in January 2014, we fostered a group who were up for filming, learning, performing and socialising. So many of the students from those early classes are now dear friends and collaborators in the much larger business we’ve become.

Elena’s dynamite ability to market, organise and draw people together for the sheer love of dance was a huge part of our success. She gathered the momentum we needed for the film, with interviews on TV, Radio and publications. The film got over 42,000 hits and the Lord Mayor of Brighton came to the launch. By then all this dancing had made me very large and pregnant and on New Years day, January 2015, I had the child I’d waited seven years to conceive, I called him Charleston – not really but I was tempted!

Lucian ‘Charleston’ Creed 1st Nov 2015

Elena and I being interviewed on Juice Radio 

The classes expanded and we now had a performance troupe, drawing talent from those early classes. Over the next three years our classes grew and other exciting opportunities came our way such as breaking world records, flashmobs, performances, festivals and speakeasy events. But all this had to fit around full-time jobs and motherhood. We would conduct our business over lunch breaks, evening calls and a lot of chats in car parks!

This summer we decided to throw everything at growing our classes into an actual business after we were accepted on the Entrepreneurial Sparks programme. So many people had told us how much they loved Charleston and wished there was something similar in their area, so we thought lets take our classes to other cities.

Like any new venture it’s been a whirlwind but so interesting and rewarding. One of our first new products was a ‘Dance in a day’ where we took the best moves, music and routines and combined them into a three hour workshop. The response has been phenomenal although the best quote was from I guy who’d been dragged along by his partner and was over heard saying ‘It’s actually alright'.

So there’s the story but why the rebrand? I Charleston Brighton was directly inspired by the ‘I Charleston the World’ project, so it wasn’t our creation. We had also found there was much confusion as to weather it was a small ‘i’ as in apple products or a good old fashioned capital I. We loved the name so much but by simply changing the ‘I’ to a ‘My’ we kept the essence whilst making it personal to all the people who have essentially created our business; Yes you, the dancers who come and embrace this silly wonderful dance every week in class. So whilst we are very happy to have a growing business and love the new designs it is essentially you who have created MyCharleston and for that we thank you.

Fiona