Chicago

Roxie Hart, a Chicago housewife, attends The Onyx nightclub to watch vaudeville star Velma Kelly perform. The opening number 'Overture/All That Jazz' dazzles her and hints at a life beyond domestic routine. The performance plants the seed of Roxie's dream of stardom.

Seeking a shortcut to fame, Roxie begins an affair with furniture salesman Fred Casely after the show. Casely claims he knows a manager and could help her get into the right circles, using secrets to curry favor. The liaison sets in motion a dangerous web of lies that will frame Roxie's future actions.

Velma Kelly is arrested for the murder of her husband and sister after being caught in bed with a lover. The case catapults Velma into the public eye and marks the start of a brutal media circus around the two rival stars. The arrest foreshadows the competition Roxie will face inside and outside the courtroom.

A month after the show, Casely admits to Roxie that he lied about his connections to sleep with her. Enraged by the deception, Roxie shoots Casely dead, sealing her fate in a system built on sensational headlines. The murder triggers a spiraling chain of scandal.

Roxie convinces her gullible husband Amos to take the fall by claiming self-defense against a burglar. As evidence of her infidelity surfaces, Amos recants his story, telling the police that Casely was already dead when he returned home. The truth deepens Roxie's entanglement with the legal system.

Roxie is arrested and sent to Cook County Jail as rumors swirl that she faces execution by hanging. The weight of public opinion and prosecutor's rhetoric sets the stage for her courtroom showdown. The jail becomes the understudy stage for the big trial to come.

At Murderess' Row, Roxie is supervised by the corrupt Matron Mama Morton and meets other inmates, including Velma Kelly, whose story casts a long shadow. She hears how Velma navigates the system and media, foreshadowing the strategy Roxie will adopt. The jail becomes a stage before any courtroom drama.

Morton advises Roxie to hire Billy Flynn, a brilliant and unscrupulous lawyer. Flynn crafts a media-forward defense that paints Roxie as a virtuous Southern woman corrupted by a decadent city, a narrative designed to turn public opinion in her favor.

With the press on her side, Roxie becomes an overnight sensation as a tragic heroine. When wealthy Kitty Baxter is arrested for similar crimes, the tabloid cycle shifts to her, prompting Roxie to claim pregnancy to sustain interest; Flynn pushes the idea that the child is Casley's, urging Amos to divorce her.

Mama Morton and Velma discover Roxie's diary and trade it for amnesty, then Flynn asserts the diary was planted by Harrison and discredits it with legalistic maneuvers. The diary becomes a pivotal piece of leverage in the courtroom, threatening Roxie's defense.

Roxie is acquitted, but the victory is dampened when a rival woman shoots her own lawyer outside the courthouse. Behind the scenes, Flynn admits to Roxie that he tampered with the diary to incriminate the DA and free two clients, a betrayal that unsettles Roxie and tests her loyalty to him.

Roxie continues to pursue a vaudeville career with mixed results until Velma proposes a joint act for two murderesses. The two stage a spectacular performance of Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag, receiving a standing ovation from a crowd that includes Flynn, Morton, jurors, and fellow acquitted murderesses. The finale cements Roxie's enduring fame in Chicago's showbiz world.