Velma Kelly

Last updated
Velma Kelly
Chicago character
Created by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Portrayed byBroadway stage:
Chita Rivera
Bebe Neuwirth
Ute Lemper
Ruthie Henshall
Caroline O'Connor
Reva Rice
Pia Douwes
Irish production:
Lisa Kelly
2013 Hollywood Bowl production:
Samantha Barks
2002 film version:
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Silent film version:
Julia Faye
Stage play:
Juliette Crosby
Roxie Hart:
Helene Reynolds
In-universe information
Species Human
Gender Female
Occupation Vaudevillian
Murderess
Nightclub singer
RelativesSister:
Veronica
Husband:
Charlie
Nationality American
Residence Chicago, Illinois, United States

Velma Kelly is one of the main characters in the successful 1975 Broadway musical Chicago . Kelly is based on the character "Velma", who first appeared in the 1926 play, also called Chicago , who was in-turn inspired by the life of Belva Gaertner.

Contents

Character background

Kelly is a nightclub singer/vaudevillian who had mediocre success as part of an acrobatics double act with her sister Veronica until, when she catches Veronica with her husband Charlie while on tour, she presumably kills them both (though she denies remembering it). She is sent to the Cook County Jail where she hires the best soliciting lawyer, Billy Flynn, a master of turning cases into a media circus to free his clients. The attention prompts an offer from the William Morris Agency to pay her more than fourteen times what she had made as her share of the proceeds from the double act with Veronica—once she is acquitted.

Kelly's plans are upended when Roxie Hart, a failed vaudeville aspirant accused of murdering her paramour, arrives in the jail and hires Flynn, who promptly shifts the media circus to Hart and away from Kelly. William Morris drops their offer, and Kelly remains resentful of Hart for the rest of the show, though she begrudgingly concedes that her act needs a partner and that Roxie fits the bill.

Kelly is ultimately acquitted offstage; she and Roxie end up co-headlining a vaudeville tour.

Historical basis

Velma Kelly's character was based on a woman named Belva Gaertner. Belva was a cabaret singer who had been married and divorced twice. After those men had come and gone, she had a lover named Walter Law, who she thought was the right man for her. On March 11, 1924, Belva allegedly shot Law, who was already married with one child. Law was found in the front seat of Belva's car with a bottle of gin and a gun beside him that had discharged three cartridges. The next day, she was found at her apartment with bloody clothes on the floor. She claimed that she had been drunk and couldn't remember what had happened. She was arrested for the murder of Walter Law on March 12, 1924.[ citation needed ] During her interview with Maurine Watkins, Gaertner told Watkins that "gin and guns—either one is bad enough, but together they get you in a dickens of a mess, don't they."[ citation needed ] Her defense in court was that he could have committed suicide, and she was released in June 1924. She remarried her husband William Gaertner and was later convicted of drunk driving in 1926. In 1927, she attended the opening of Watkins' play Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.

For the musical, Kelly's mannerisms were based upon Texas Guinan, one of the most famous vaudeville performers of the era. [1]

Notable portrayals

Women who have portrayed Velma on the Broadway stage include: Chita Rivera, Caroline O'Connor, Bebe Neuwirth, Jasmine Guy, Reva Rice, Pia Douwes and Ute Lemper. She was portrayed by Lisa Kelly in the Irish production. Samantha Barks starred as Velma in the 2013 Hollywood Bowl production.

In 1999, Neuwirth had to go back on stage and play Velma Kelly with only two days' notice because Lemper, who was supposed to play her, was battling laryngitis and the flu for two weeks so her doctor recommended that she take some time off to rest. [2] In 1997, Neuwirth won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Fred Astaire Award for her performance as Velma Kelly. Neuwirth came back 10 years later and played the other murderess, Roxie Hart. In 2014, she appeared in a limited engagement as Mama Morton. The 2002 film version of the musical features Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Film Award for her role.[ citation needed ]

Prior to the 1975 debut of the stage musical, Kelly appeared in the earlier incarnations of Watkins' story. In the original non-musical play that debuted on December 30, 1926, and in the silent film version released on December 27, 1927, Velma had no last name and was a smaller role, billed as a "stylish divorcée" among the other inmates at the jail. This version of Velma was played by Juliette Crosby in the stage play [3] and by Julia Faye in the silent film. [4] In the 1942 film Roxie Hart , she was given the last name Wall and portrayed by Helene Reynolds. [5]

Musical numbers

Throughout the musical, Velma Kelly has many songs and dances that she performs, whether it be by herself or with an ensemble of people. The musical numbers she performs are:

Related Research Articles

<i>Chicago</i> (1927 film) 1927 film by Frank John Urson

Chicago is a 1927 American silent crime comedy-drama film produced by Cecil B. DeMille and directed by Frank Urson. The first film adaptation of Maurine Dallas Watkins' play of the same name, the film stars Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart, a fame-obsessed housewife who kills her lover in cold blood and, after trying to coerce her husband into taking the blame, is put on trial for murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belva Gaertner</span> American acquitted of murder

Belva Eleanora Gaertner was an American woman who was acquitted of murder in a 1924 trial. She inspired the character of Velma in the 1926 play Chicago created by Maurine Dallas Watkins; Watkins reported on the trial for the Chicago Tribune. The character of Velma Kelly also appears in the 1975 musical based on the play.

Maurine Dallas Watkins was an American playwright and screenwriter. Early in her career, she briefly worked as a journalist covering the courthouse beat for the Chicago Tribune. This experience gave her the material for her most famous piece of work, the stage play, Chicago (1926), which was eventually adapted into the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name, which was then made into a film in 2002 that won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beulah Annan</span> American suspected murderer

Beulah May Annan was an American suspected murderer. Her story inspired Maurine Dallas Watkins's play Chicago in 1926. The play was adapted into a 1927 silent film, a 1975 stage musical, and a 2002 movie musical, all with that title, and a 1942 romantic comedy film, Roxie Hart, named for the character who Annan inspired.

<i>Chicago</i> (2002 film) Film by Rob Marshall

Chicago is a 2002 American musical comedy crime film based on the 1975 stage musical of the same name which in turn originated in the 1926 play of the same name. It explores the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Chicago during the Jazz Age. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere. Chicago centers on Roxie Hart (Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones), two murderers who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s Chicago. Roxie, a housewife, and Velma, a vaudevillian, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Rob Marshall, who also choreographed the film, and was adapted by screenwriter Bill Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.

<i>Chicago</i> (musical) 1975 musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb

Chicago is a 1975 American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Chicago in the jazz age, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same title by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, about actual criminals and crimes on which she reported. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bebe Neuwirth</span> American actress (born 1958)

Beatrice "Bebe" Jane Neuwirth is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she has received two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruthie Henshall</span> English entertainer (born 1967)

Valentine Ruth Henshall, known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End debut in Cats in 1987. A five-time Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1995 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Amalia Balash in the London revival of She Loves Me (1994).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ute Lemper</span> German singer and actress

Ute Gertrud Lemper is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of Cabaret, for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago in both London and New York, which won her the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Theatre, London</span> West End theatre in London, England

The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located in Charing Cross Road. The entrances are on Phoenix Street and Charing Cross Road. The Phoenix Theatre was built on the site of a former factory and then music hall Alcazar before.

<i>Roxie Hart</i> (film) 1942 film by William A. Wellman

Roxie Hart is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou and George Montgomery. A film adaptation of a 1926 play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a journalist who found inspiration in two real-life Chicago trials she had covered for the press. The play had been adapted once prior, in a 1927 silent film. In 1975, a hit stage musical premiered, and was once more adapted as the Oscar-winning 2002 musical film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxie Hart</span> Character from the 1927 play Chicago

Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional character. She is the main character of the 1926 play Chicago and its various remakes and derivatives.

"All That Jazz" is a song from the 1975 musical Chicago. It has music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, and is the opening song of the musical. The title of the 1979 film, starring Roy Scheider as a character strongly resembling choreographer/stage and film director Bob Fosse, is derived from the song.

"Cell Block Tango" is a song from the 1975 musical Chicago, with music composed by John Kander and lyrics written by Fred Ebb.

Josefina Gabrielle Holmes, professionally known as Josefina Gabrielle, is a British actress and former ballet dancer, best known for her performances in West End musicals and plays.

Belva can refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bianca Marroquín</span> Mexican musical theatre and television actress

Bianca Marroquín is a Mexican musical theatre and television actress known for being the first Mexican actress to have a starring role on Broadway. She has performed in the musical Chicago for over twenty years and is one of the few actresses to play both female leads, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly.

Lenora Nemetz is an American stage and musical theatre actress.

Chicago is a play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins. The play, while fiction, is a satire based on two unrelated 1924 court cases involving two women, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, who were both suspected and later acquitted of murder, whom Watkins had covered for the Chicago Tribune as a reporter.

Billy Flynn (<i>Chicago</i>) Character from the 1927 play Chicago

William Flynn is a fictional character from the 1926 play Chicago, written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, and its various derivative works and remakes.

References

  1. Kander, John; Ebb, Fred; Lawrence, Greg (October 2004). Colored Lights: Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 128–129. ISBN   978-0-571-21169-2.
  2. Van Gelder, Lawrence. "FOOTLIGHTS", The New York Times, January 14, 1999; accessed March 21, 2010.
  3. Chicago (1926 play) details, ibdb.com; accessed October 3, 2015.
  4. Chicago (1927 film) details, imdb.com; accessed October 3, 2015.
  5. Roxie Hart (1942 film) details, imdb.com; accessed October 3, 2015.