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Fred Ebb: "Chicago"

 Sometimes, a musical asks us to cheer for the protagonist; we want what the hero wants, and it's enjoyable to walk in the hero's shoes.


Alexander Hamilton wants freedom from oppression. ("When you're living on your knees, you rise up.") Yes! It's easy to sign on!

The Little Mermaid has intellectual hunger. ("I want to know what the people know....") Three cheers for that!

Young Maria would like to be a dutiful surrogate mother. ("To show them I'm worthy...and while I show them, I'll show me!") Hooray!

In this context, I'm especially thrilled by the bleakness of Kander/Ebb's "Chicago." This show has one of the canonical "I Want" songs--and the wish isn't for anything admirable. The wish is just for fame. The show's hero wants to be a Kardashian.

The name on everybody's lips is gonna be....Roxie!
The lady raking in the chips is gonna be....Roxie!
I'm gonna be a celebrity....
That means somebody EVERYONE knows....

Our avatar doesn't apologize for the wish. In fact, her greed becomes flashier; her triumphant final lines are among the grossest in Broadway history.

Sophie Tucker will SHIT--I know--
To see her name get billed BELOW....
Foxy....Roxie....Hart!

Kander and Ebb are in the spotlight now because of "Schmicago," and I'm happy to see that. Their great musical made a major mark on America in the O.J. Simpson era: A revival of "Chicago" forced the nation to acknowledge that Fred Ebb's words had been ahead of their time. I love that guy.
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