Research on women rights: 

https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/sexual-and-reproductive-rights/

Assignment.

Chicago:

Chicago is an american musical that was written and choreographed by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, which was one of the most famous jazz dance choreographers. The original broadway production first premiered on June 3rd, 1975. The show starred Chita Rivera as Velma, Gwen Verdon as Roxie and Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn. The musical won a numerous of awards such as six Drama Desk awards and six Tony awards.

Based on a 1920s play by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, the musical is based off real cryminals in chicago during that time.
The main character is called Roxie hart:

Shes a wannabe star who murders her lover and is arrested. The jail that she is sent to is called the Cook County jail. There, Roxie meets her idol, the famed murderers and nightclub performer Velma kelly. Those characters and the storyline are based on real-life events e.g the crimes that they have committed. The theme of this musical is women, sex and murder. All of the characters in the movie have their own story about the crime they have committed. The characterization is really bold, upfront and sexy. All of the characters express themselves in different ways such as dance movements but also different clothes and accessories. Most of the time, during their performances and solos , their costumes are very revealing and sexual such as fishnet tights or revealing tops.

The musical has a timeless quality which means that the issues that are portrayed in the musical, can reflect the society at any time. This is due to the theme of celebrity criminals, and how they get away with murder. This shows the social issues during the time which makes it an even more interesting musical.

Chicago: a music Vaudeville - Vaudeville is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment. Vaudeville and Jazz music were very popular components of the 1920s music. Thos is why the musical socially reflects relevent issues.
When comparing the 1920s and 1970s you can see that even though Chicago was created in the 1970s, it's music was taken from the 1920s. The vaudeville and jazz music weren't popular in the 70s therefore the music was more socially understood of what issues occured at the time.
Chicagos idea of the "show" and celebrity criminal reflect the historical events which can be connected between the 1920s past and the 1970s era.
Another theme in the musical is marrige. The main character Roxie divorces her husband Amos, and cheats on him. During the 1970s ideas about marrige were changing and developing, therefore divorce and remarrigr was more popular. In the musical, Roxie and Amos end up remarrying eachother at the end of the show.
In addition to the history, feminism started to come along in the 1970s. Those were women that viewed themselves equal to men. They wanted to show that they dont need a man and thats what Roxie, velma and other murderes want to demonstrate. For example, In one of the musicals best known songs "Cell block tango" the women sing about how they killed their men and how they are better without them, which shows their independance.
In my opinion it's really effective because they tell their stories as if they didn't actually commit the crimes which links in with how the actual characters in real life might of thought about the crimes that they have committed. The songs are also really effective because they use dance as well as a speech to say what happened which makes it enjoyable to watch. Thats where Fred Ebb and Bob fosse got their inspiration from: The women that committed the crimes. They have put it in a good context in the musical since it reflects the justice system in the 1920's , about how the jail system really worked at that time in america and how women deal with their assaults.