Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional character originally from the 1926 play Chicago. The playwright, reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, was inspired by the real-life 1924 murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, which she covered for the Chicago Tribune. Annan was the basis for Roxie Hart. The play made it to Broadway in 1926 and ran for 172 performances. Gaertner attended the Chicago opening. Its adaptations include: ⁕Chicago, a 1927 silent film, with Phyllis Haver playing Roxie ⁕Roxie Hart, a 1942 movie starring Ginger Rogers as Roxie ⁕Chicago, the original 1975 Broadway stage musical, featuring Gwen Verdon, and its 1996 revival ⁕Chicago, an Oscar-winning 2002 film adapted from the 1975 musical, starring Renée Zellweger as Roxie, Catherine Zeta-Jones as rival Velma Kelly and Richard Gere as defense attorney Billy Flynn Performers who have portrayed Roxie Hart in the musical also include Liza Minnelli, Ann Reinking, Brooke Shields, Ruthie Henshall, Melora Hardin, Ashlee Simpson, Melanie Griffith, Samantha Harris, Michelle Williams and Christie Brinkley. Henshall, Simpson, Shields, and Williams have portrayed the character both on Broadway and The West End. Bebe Neuwirth, who won a Tony Award for the role of Velma Kelly in 1997, also portrayed Roxie in the same production in 2006. Wikipedia [ - ]

Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional character originally from the 1926 play Chicago. The... [ + ]