Perhaps best known for his role as Christian Clarke in the South London soap, John Partridge takes on the role of smooth talking lawyer Billy Flynn employed by the husband of chorus girl Roxie Hart, played by actress Hayley Tamaddon (Coronation Street's Andrea Beckett) to clear his wife of murder. The duo are aided and abetted by real-life former prison officer and winner of the 10th series of The X Factor Sam Bailey as Mama Morton.
And so begins this tale of "murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery…all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts"… based on real life events in the roaring 1920s.
Chicago opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 18 November 1997 to rave reviews, winning the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for 'Outstanding Musical Production' as well as the 1998 Critics Circle Drama Award for 'Best Musical', and immediately became a sell-out hit running for 15 years. It is currently playing in New York where it holds the record as the longest running musical revival and also the second longest running musical in Broadway history.
