All That Jazz: The Life and Times of the Musical Chicago

Mordden's (When Broadway Went to Hollywood) latest is not necessarily about the musical Chicago; instead, it is a rambling history of musical theater and an homage to Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the 1975 production. Opening chapters read like a dissertation on the history of Chicago—the city—while the rest of the book reflects a lengthy op-ed featuring the author's criticisms of the original 1926 play by Maurine Watkins as well as its film iterations: a 1927 silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille; the 1942 adaptation starring Ginger Rogers; and the 2005 blockbuster starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger. The lone chapter devoted to the musical itself critiques the score by Fosse and Fred Ebb. Mordden clearly prefers the 1975 show to the current revival, which has been on Broadway since 1996, calling it "middle-class common knowledge." Tangents on Hollywood detract from the narrative, and Mordden's commentary on the attractiveness of women in show business is cringeworthy.