Steve Oakes has written:

'The importance of paradox in Brechtian comedy'

Martin Walsh has written:

'The Brechtian aspect of radical cinema' -- subject(s): Motion pictures

Brechtian theatre is an abstract form of theatre. Its main feature consists of breaking that boundary between actors on stage and the audience watching. Generally, the actors will enter and/or exit from the audience and pose socio-cultural issues that will make the audience member ask themselves a sub-conscious question about the issue. Shakespearean and Greek theatre is somewhat your stock standard form of theatre.

Brechtian theatre is an abstract form of theatre. Its main feature consists of breaking that boundary between actors on stage and the audience watching. Generally, the actors will enter and/or exit from the audience and pose socio-cultural issues that will make the audience member ask themselves a sub-conscious question about the issue. Shakespearean and Greek theatre is somewhat your stock standard form of theatre.

opened on June 3, 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre, and ran for a total of 936 performances, closing on August 27, 1977. The opening night cast starred Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly, Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, and Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn. Velma Kelly had been a comparatively minor character in all versions of Chicagoprior to the musical rendering. The role was fleshed out to balance Chita Rivera's role opposite Gwen Verdon's Roxie Hart. The musical received mixed reviews. The Brechtian style of the show, which frequently dropped the fourth wall, made audiences uncomfortable. It brought attention to the fact that the show was really about the world we live in, paralleling the glamorization of criminals with how society itself makes criminals into celebrities.