CHICAGO Set to "Razzle Dazzle' Palace Stage

09/15/2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sheree Marcucci
Office: (203) 755-8483 x 133
Cell: (203) 206-8286
marcucci@palacetheaterct.org

“CHICAGO” SET TO ‘RAZZLE DAZZLE’ PALACE STAGE
Hit Broadway Musical Plays Waterbury Theater for One Night Only

WATERBURY - The 1920’s come roaring back with a vengeance for one night only, when the hit musical CHICAGO comes to the Palace Theater for two of performances on Saturday, October 4, at 2:00pm & 8:00pm. CHICAGO is the first performance featured in the theater’s debut Webster One Night Only Series with media sponsor WTNH/MYTV9.

Based on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, CHICAGO is, as audiences are told in the show’s opening lines, “a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery - all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts." The story revolves around Roxie Hart, a nightclub dancer, who dreams of starring in vaudeville. She kills her lover, nightclub regular Fred Casely, and convinces her husband to front the money to hire Chicago's shrewdest defense lawyer. The lawyer, Billy Flynn, turns her crime of passion into celebrity headlines, and Roxie becomes the toast of Chicago, that is, until other crimes pull the limelight away from her.

Chicago was created by John Kander and Fred Ebb, known for their hit musicals Cabaret and Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Bob Fosse, who is famous for his innovative staging and choreography. It first opened on Broadway on June 3, 1975, and ran 898 performances. Its current Broadway revival (on which this tour is based) opened November 14, 1996, and is still running.

In 2002, Miramax Films took the Tony Award winning musical to the big screen. Starring Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelley and Richard Gere as Billy Flynn. The box office success and subsequent multiple Oscar wins, including Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and Best Picture, led to the rebirth of the musical and touring success. For the first time since the movie debut, CHICAGO is live in Waterbury.

This National Touring Broadway production of Chicago is presented by Troika Entertainment, which is celebrating over twenty years of producing musical theatre throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

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About the Palace Theater
The Palace's primary purpose is to revitalize the Greater Waterbury community through the presentation of the performing arts and educational initiatives in collaboration with area cultural and educational institutions. Its mission is to build a strong sense of community and an appreciation for the arts by operating, maintaining and sustaining itself as a financially viable not-for-profit performing arts center that generates a positive artistic, educational, social and financial impact on the Greater Waterbury area. For more information, visit: www.palacetheaterct.org.

The Palace Theater gratefully acknowledges support by: Bank of America, City of Waterbury, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Fox 61, Naugatuck Savings Bank, Republican-American, ShopRite, Waterbury Hospital, WATR 1320AM, Webster Bank, and WTNH/WCTX.