"In 2002, like most people with a pulse, I was obsessed with the movie Chicago. I simply could not stop quoting all of the numbers, despite having the voice of a wheezing goat. After my family and friends pleaded with me to stop singing, I finally started paying attention to the actual themes of the movie and musical, and what they said about celebrity and spectacle, particularly through the character Billy Flynn."
"Fast forward nearly 25 years, and the show is now the longest-running musical on Broadway, with one of the most well-known stunt cast roles for Roxie Hart, who has, ironically enough, been portrayed by numerous Housewives."
"Now, I'm not calling Andy Cohen Billy Flynn, but his careful warning to Stacey and the rest of the Potomac wives about the danger of letting internet fandom get to your head is remarkably similar to when Billy looks at Roxie Hart and says, "You are a phony celebrity. You're a flash in the pan. In a couple of weeks, no one's gonna give a shit about you.""
In 2002 the narrator was obsessed with the movie Chicago and repeatedly quoted its numbers despite lacking a strong singing voice. Family and friends urged the narrator to stop. The narrator later noticed the musical's themes of celebrity and spectacle embodied by Billy Flynn. Chicago anticipated reality television's shameless attention-seeking. The show has become Broadway's longest-running musical and Roxie Hart is a frequent stunt-cast role often played by Housewives. Reality television incentivizes cast to self-flanderize into exaggerated, meme-ready personas. Housewives reunions exemplify an appetite for chaos, pageantry, and ongoing titillation.
Read at Vulture
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