page: 1 2 3 4   June 3, 1975 46th Street Theatre Bob Fosse Bob Fosse John Kander and Fred Ebb Bob Fosse's near-heart attack one week into rehearsals for "Chicago" put a morbid spin on an already morbid production. Based on a play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, the story is set in Chicago in the 1930s, when vaudeville theaters were filled with freakish sideshow acts. The main characters, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, stand accused of murder and attempt to parlay their criminal notoriety into show business careers. Fosse made an almost complete recovery from his bypass surgery, but many of his colleagues noticed serious changes in his creative persona. "Chicago" poster.