Roxie Hart

Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional showgirl in various adaptations of the same story. She first appeared in the 1926 play Chicago written by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins was inspired by the real-life unrelated 1924 murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, that she covered for the Chicago Tribune. Annan was the basis for Roxie. Both women were acquitted.

The play made it to Broadway in 1926 and ran for 172 performances. Gaertner attended the Chicago opening. Its adaptations include:

• Chicago, a 1927 silent film, with Phyllis Haver playing Roxie
• Roxie Hart, a 1942 movie starring Ginger Rogers as Roxie
• Chicago, the original 1975 Broadway stage musical, featuring Gwen Verdon,^[1] and its 1996 revival
• Chicago, an Oscar-winning 2002 film adapted from the 1975 musical (and its 1996 revival), starring Renée Zellweger as Roxie,^[1] Catherine Zeta-Jones as rival Velma Kelly and Richard Gere as defense attorney Billy Flynn

Performers who have portrayed Roxie Hart in the musical also include Ann Reinking, Brooke Shields,^[1] Ruthie Henshall, Melora Hardin,^[2] Ashlee Simpson,^[1] Melanie Griffith,^[1] Samantha Harris, Michelle Williams^[1] and Christie Brinkley^[3]. Henshall, Simpson, Shields, and Williams have portrayed the character both on Broadway and The West End. Bebe Neuwirth who won a Tony Award for the role of Velma Kelly in 1997, also portrayed Roxie in the same production in 2006.^[1]

References

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