PNC Broadway’s ‘Chicago’ Opens at the Bendum Center (Tues., 3/10/26)

CHICAGO (musical) by John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Bob Fosse. Touring company at Benedum Center. March 10 – 15. 

In 1924 in Chicago, two lurid murder cases made headlines, each involving a glamorous young woman. One admitted shooting her lover and there was strong evidence that the other, a cabaret singer, had killed hers. Both had clever lawyers who played on the jurors’ sympathy, and both were acquitted. A young writer named Maurine Dallas Watkins covered the cases as a reporter, then wrote a play satirizing the media-circus trials and the wild atmosphere of the city itself. Her play, Chicago, did well on Broadway, and nearly 50 years later a musical adapted from it became a global hit. By mixing the crime stories and dark humor with jazzy song-and-dance, the musical Chicago evokes the Roaring Twenties in a way that seems to resonate with modern audiences. Not to mention the fact that a lot of its social commentary still hits home today. Chicago comes to Pittsburgh this year in a North American touring production, as part of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series.  Visit the Cultural Trust page for tickets. 7:30 p.m. Benedum Center, 237 7th St., Cultural District. (M.V.)

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