Cabaret [Chicago] & the Seductive Power of Evil?🎥😈🎬😇

'Sister Carrie' by Theodore Dreiser was one of the 1001 books I was told that I must read before I die, but I listened to it on a free podcast reading of the book instead. 

And that reminded me of an old 2017 post I had written for some reason -

2017 and the "Wild/Wronged Woman" Archetype?

Libby Munro on stage in
the play 'Venus in Fur'

"Sister Carrie (1900) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945) about a young woman who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own American Dream. She first becomes a mistress to men that she perceives as superior, but later becomes a famous actress. It has been called the "greatest of all American urban novels"."

I then watched the 1952 movie version of the book and couldn't help thinking if this book didn't inspire the original stage play 'Chicago' which would morph over the years into the 2002 movie?

"Though based on Theodore Dreiser's novel "Sister Carrie", the movie was released simply as "Carrie" because the studio feared audiences would think "Sister Carrie" was the story of a nun."

"Chicago is a 2002 American musical crime comedy film based on the 1975 stage musical of the same name which in turn originated in the 1926 play of the same name. It explores the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Chicago during the Jazz Age."

Episode 604 - "Chicago" -
The History Behind The Musical

"The film 'Chicago' went on to win six Academy Awards in 2003, including Best Picture, making it the first musical to win Best Picture since Oliver! in 1968."

Harvey Weinstein sent to hospital
after contracting Covid

What I find ironic from a 2024 post #METoo perspective, watching the 2002 Harvey Weinstein produced movie, is how Weinstein is playing out the courtroom farce in his real life that this musical is shining the spotlight on such courtroom media stories:-)

Listening to 'The Theatre Thoughts Podcast' episode about 'Chicago' the stage musical was interesting, but I must confess that when it comes to musicals that I'm a CATS person:-)

Also having watched the 1999 movie 'Entrapment' starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and the Petronas Towers, which from 1998 to 2004 were officially designated as the tallest buildings in the world until they were surpassed by the completion of Taipei 101, I thought hang on, weren't the Twin Towers in New York taller?!

The Petronas Towers are the world's tallest twin skyscrapers and remained the tallest buildings in Malaysia until 2019, when they were surpassed by The Exchange 106.

"When the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was completed in 1998, it claimed to be the tallest building in the world, measuring 1,482.6 feet (451.9 m) tall including decorative spires. Chicagoans objected to this claim on the basis that the Sears Tower's top floor was higher than that of either of the Petronas Towers. In the ensuing controversy, four categories of "tallest building" were created. Of these, Petronas was the tallest in the category of height to the top of architectural elements, meaning spires but not antennas."

So, between Catherine starring in a 1999 movie about the highest twin towers in the world and winning an Oscar for starring in 'Chicago', another set of Twin Towers disappeared from the New York skyline? 

I guess all the world is a stage ... and all that jazz?

Trickster Makes This World:
Mischief, Myth and Art

Jung in the World | Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth and Art with Lewis Hyde?📕🃏🍎 🐒🐢🤡