Velma Kelly
Encyclopedia
Velma Kelly is one of the main characters in the successful Broadway
musical Chicago
. The Velma Kelly in Chicago: The Movie is a nightclub singer/vaudevillian who was accused of murder of her husband and sister. She is sent to the Cook County Jail
where she hires the best soliciting lawyer, Billy Flynn. Singing and dancing, and telling her side of the story, Kelly goes through her time at jail being the star until Roxie Hart
comes into the picture.
. Belva was a cabaret
singer who had been married and divorced twice. After those men had come and gone, she had a lover named Walter Law, who she thought was the right man for her. On March 11, 1924, Belva shot Law, who was already married with one child. Law was found with a bottle of gin and a gun that had three shots fired next to him in the front seat of Belva's car. The next day, she was found at her apartment with bloody clothes on the floor. She claimed that she had been drunk and couldn't remember what had happened. She was arrested for the murder of Walter Law on March 12, 1924. When she was getting interviewed by Maurine Watkins, she told her "gin and guns- either one is bad enough, but together they get you in a dickens of a mess, don't they." In court, her defense was that he could've committed suicide, and was released in June 1924. She remarried her husband William Gaertner and was later convicted of drunk driving in 1926. In 1927, she attended the opening of Watkins play Chicago in Chicago
, Illinois.
, Terra C. MacLeod, Amra-Faye Wright, Nancy Hess, Deidre Goodwin, Brenda Braxton, Caroline O'Connor, Roxana Carrasco, Bebe Neuwirth
, Reva Rice
, Donna Marie Asbury, Lori Ellis, Stephanie Brown
, Holly Shepard, Pia Douwes
and Ute Lemper
.
These women have played this role in multiple places throughout the world.
In 1999, Bebe Neuwirth had to go back on stage and play Velma Kelly with only two days notice because Ute Lemper, who was supposed to play her, was battling laryngitis and the flu for two weeks so her doctor recommended that she take some time off to rest .
In 1997, Neuwirth won a Tony Award
, a Drama Desk Award
, and a Fred Astaire
Award for her performance as Velma Kelly. Neuwirth came back 10 years later and played the other murderess, Roxie Hart
.
There is a film version of the musical that was made in 2002, which won 6 Academy Awards
in 2003. In the 2002 film
, Velma Kelly was portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones
. Jones is best known for her performances in The Mask of Zorro
(1999), The Legend of Zorro
(2005), America's Sweethearts
(2001), and No Reservations
in 2007. She won an Oscar and a BAFTA film award. After the movie came out, she did an interview about her role as Kelly.
The musical numbers she performs are:
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Chicago
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...
. The Velma Kelly in Chicago: The Movie is a nightclub singer/vaudevillian who was accused of murder of her husband and sister. She is sent to the Cook County Jail
Cook County Jail
The Cook County Jail, located on in Cook County, Illinois, is the largest jail in the United States of America housing approximately 9,800 men and women. The facility is located at 3015 S California Ave in the city of Chicago...
where she hires the best soliciting lawyer, Billy Flynn. Singing and dancing, and telling her side of the story, Kelly goes through her time at jail being the star until Roxie Hart
Roxie Hart
Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional showgirl in various adaptations of the same story. She first appeared in the 1926 play Chicago written by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins was inspired by the real-life unrelated 1924 murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, which she covered for...
comes into the picture.
Historical basis
Velma Kelly's character was based on a woman named Belva GaertnerBelva Gaertner
Belva Gaertner , acquitted in a 1924 murder trial, inspired the fictional character Velma Kelly/Velma Wall created by Maurine Dallas Watkins, who reported on her trial for the Chicago Tribune...
. Belva was a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singer who had been married and divorced twice. After those men had come and gone, she had a lover named Walter Law, who she thought was the right man for her. On March 11, 1924, Belva shot Law, who was already married with one child. Law was found with a bottle of gin and a gun that had three shots fired next to him in the front seat of Belva's car. The next day, she was found at her apartment with bloody clothes on the floor. She claimed that she had been drunk and couldn't remember what had happened. She was arrested for the murder of Walter Law on March 12, 1924. When she was getting interviewed by Maurine Watkins, she told her "gin and guns- either one is bad enough, but together they get you in a dickens of a mess, don't they." In court, her defense was that he could've committed suicide, and was released in June 1924. She remarried her husband William Gaertner and was later convicted of drunk driving in 1926. In 1927, she attended the opening of Watkins play Chicago in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois.
Notable portrayals
Women who have portrayed Velma on the Broadway stage include: Chita RiveraChita Rivera
Chita Rivera is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award...
, Terra C. MacLeod, Amra-Faye Wright, Nancy Hess, Deidre Goodwin, Brenda Braxton, Caroline O'Connor, Roxana Carrasco, Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
, Reva Rice
Reva Rice
Reva Rice is an American musical theatre actress and singer. She originated the role of Pearl in Starlight Express on Broadway, and played the character in the show's 1992 London run. She also played the role on tour in the USA and in Las Vegas....
, Donna Marie Asbury, Lori Ellis, Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown may refer to:* Stephanie Brown , a supporting character in DC Comics Batman series that has used the alter egos "Spoiler", "Robin", and "Batgirl"....
, Holly Shepard, Pia Douwes
Pia Douwes
Pia Douwes is a Dutch musical theatre actress who is extremly successful in Europe.- Biography :Douwes was born in Amsterdam, North Holland as Petronella Irene Allegonda Douwes, to an arts dealer and a social worker and the grandniece of Doris Day...
and Ute Lemper
Ute Lemper
Ute Lemper is a German chanteuse and actress renowned for her interpretation of the work of Kurt Weill.- Biography :Born in Münster, Germany, Ute Lemper was raised in a Roman Catholic family. She joined the punk music group known as the Panama Drive Band at the age of 16...
.
These women have played this role in multiple places throughout the world.
In 1999, Bebe Neuwirth had to go back on stage and play Velma Kelly with only two days notice because Ute Lemper, who was supposed to play her, was battling laryngitis and the flu for two weeks so her doctor recommended that she take some time off to rest .
In 1997, Neuwirth won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
, and a Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
Award for her performance as Velma Kelly. Neuwirth came back 10 years later and played the other murderess, Roxie Hart
Roxie Hart
Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional showgirl in various adaptations of the same story. She first appeared in the 1926 play Chicago written by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins. Watkins was inspired by the real-life unrelated 1924 murder trials of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, which she covered for...
.
There is a film version of the musical that was made in 2002, which won 6 Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in 2003. In the 2002 film
Chicago (2002 film)
Chicago is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz-age Chicago....
, Velma Kelly was portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
. Jones is best known for her performances in The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson...
(1999), The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to The Mask of Zorro , both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain...
(2005), America's Sweethearts
America's Sweethearts
America's Sweethearts is a 2001 romantic comedy film, directed by Joe Roth, starring Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, John Cusack, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The film also stars Keri Lynn Pratt, Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Seth Green, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Walken, and features a cameo appearance...
(2001), and No Reservations
No Reservations (film)
No Reservations is a 2007 American romantic drama film directed by Scott Hicks. The screenplay by Carol Fuchs is an adaptation of an original script by Sandra Nettelbeck, which served as the basis for the 2001 German film Mostly Martha.-Plot:...
in 2007. She won an Oscar and a BAFTA film award. After the movie came out, she did an interview about her role as Kelly.
Musical numbers
Throughout the musical, Velma Kelly has many songs and dances that she performs, whether it be by herself or with an ensemble of people.The musical numbers she performs are:
- "All That JazzAll That JazzAll That Jazz is a 1979 American musical film directed by Bob Fosse. The screenplay by Robert Alan Aurthur and Fosse is a semi-autobiographical fantasy based on aspects of Fosse's life and career as dancer, choreographer and director. The film was inspired by Bob Fosse's manic effort to edit his...
" - performed in the opening act when she returns to the stage after killing her husband and sister, who were supposed to be part of the act as well. Once she is done performing, she is arrested for the murder she committed prior to the show. - "Cell Block Tango" - Kelly and the rest of the women that have been convicted of murder explain their side of the story on how their husbands/lovers died through song and dance.
- "I Can't Do It Alone" - Since the media has lately focused solely on Roxie, Velma comes up with an idea that can put her back in the press. Velma tries to convince Hart to join her in a double-act, going through the different choreographies, verses, and stages of her performances that she did with her sister, knowing that it was once Hart's dream to be on stage with Velma.
- "My Own Best Friend" - Kelly and Hart, after both have been completely forgotten by the media, sing that the only people they can count on are themselves.
- "I Know a Girl" - Velma bitterly sings to the audience about Roxie Hart's recent good luck and notoriety.
- "When Velma Takes The Stand" - Velma sings to Billy Flynn what she plans to do at her trial when she takes the stand.
- "Class" - Matron "Mama" Morton and Velma Kelly lament the disappearing morals in modern society, ironically using many vulgar obscenities.
- "Nowadays" - The Hart/Kelly duo start their performance with this song.
- "Hot Honey Rag" - After singing "Nowadays", Kelly and Hart perform this dance.