I finally saw it, and... It was fantastic.
I think one of the things that's inherently wrong with the genre of musicals is the fact that the music part doesn't often flow well with the plot. Oftentimes the plot stops and then the characters sing about how they feel about stuff, or the song is just unrelated filler.
Sometimes musicals perfectly use the music to enhance the story, and then there's times when they find completely inventive and unique ways to use the music in the context of the story.
And that's what Chicago did, and why I think it is so brilliant. Basically the central theme in Chicago is that the world is fucked up and corrupt and murders can be freed as long as they lie a ton and are pretty and razzle dazzle the audience. To take this even farther, these serious events (murder, criminal trials, etc.) literally become vaudevillian musical showcases. The press conference becomes a brilliantly inspired ventriloquist and puppet show run by the lawyer, in his final defense he does an intense tap solo, and the courtroom is a circus. The musical numbers surpass the reality of the events and expose the over the top often hilarious truth of the events, while simultaneously making complete sense as visions of the lead character (who is obsessed with show-business).
Chicago is brass, breathtaking, exciting, intense, gorgeous to watch, hilarious, sexeh, and brilliant. I don't care if you don't like musicals, WATCH IT
