Chicago

Appeals to viewers who enjoy stylized musical spectacle, cynical show-business satire, and charismatic antiheroes competing to control the story.

Tone

satirical, darkly comic, playful

Payoff

amusement, catharsis

Pacing

brisk

Intensity

moderate

Structure

linear

Themes

fame, criminal justice, media spectacle, ambition, performance

Setting

jazz-age urban America, vaudeville theaters and a women’s prison