Bathed in bright lights, but almost shrouded by the haze of jazz, booze and dancing, lies a story of adultery, murder and greed. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "Chicago."
Written as a stage play in the 1920s by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a Chicago Tribune reporter, the show was reincarnated as a jazzy musical by legendary choreographer Bob Fosse in 1975. Then in 2002, the movie of the show, starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere, walked off with six Academy Awards -- including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Zeta-Jones.
The film opened in Japan in April 2003, just a month before the stage version arrived, and it's a sure bet that many people in the audience at the Akasaka Act Theater have come to see the musical version after falling in love with the movie.