in vaudeville. velma kelly is a former headliner. they are both jailed as the murderesses.

(music: five, six, seven, eight.)

roxie: oh, miss kelly! hey listen, can i ask you somethin’? you know that harrison guy? well, he said that what i've done is a hanging case and that he's prepared to ask for the 1)maximum 2)penalty.

kelly: yeah? so?

roxie: so, i'm scared. (nervous laugh) sure would appreciate some advice, especially from someone i admire as much as you. see, since i can remember, i have wanted to be on the stage.

kelly: really? what's your talent, washing and drying?

roxie: no. no, no. i, i dance in the 3)chorus.

kelly: oh.

roxie: well, that was before i met my husband, amos...

kelly: look honey, want some advice? here it is, direct from me to you: 4)keep your paws off my underwear. ok?

roxie: yeah, ok. thanks... for nothing!

scene 2

kelly is 5)aloof to roxie, though 6)matron morton offers roxie an opportunity of representation by 7)slick chicago lawyer billy flynn.

morton: she's something, ain't she? i tell ya, no matta how big she gets, she's still as common as ever. i'd like to help you... 8)dearie. 9)take a load off. so, what do you figure on using for 10)grounds?

roxie: what grounds?

morton: what are you gonna tell a 11)jury?

roxie: i jus' figure i'd tell 'em the truth.

morton: the truth?

roxie: yeah.

morton: that's a one-way ticket to the death house.

roxie: holy mother of god!

morton: oh, relax. i mean, in this town, murder's a form of entertainment. besides, in 47 years, cook county ain't never hung a woman yet. so the 12)odds are 47 to 1 that they won't hang you.

roxie: jesus, mary and joseph!

morton: you talkin’ to the wrong people. what you need is billy flynn.

roxie: who?

morton: billy flynn. he's only the best criminal lawyer in all of illinois. telling ya, what he don't know about juries and women....

roxie: how do you get this billy flynn?

morton: well, not by prayin’ dearie. first you give me a hundred dollars. then i'll make a phone call.

roxie: a hundred dollars?! will you just... i mean... seems pretty steep for a phone call.

morton: oh, but he's worth every cent. i mean he's never lost a case for a female client yet. and with a sweet little 13)puss like you, as well... let's just say justice ain't so blind in chicago.

roxie: he's never lost a case?

morton: never! every girl in this place would kill to have billy flynn represent 'em.

(music: we want billy....)

mc: ladies and gentlemen, presenting the silver-tongued the prince of the 14)courtroom: the one, the only, billy flynn!

billy: (sings) i don't care about expensive things. cashmere coats, diamond rings, don't mean a thing. all i care about is love.

chorus: that's what he's here for.

billy: (sings) i don't care for wearin’ silk 15)cravats. 16)ruby 17)studs, 18)satin 19)spats, don't mean a thing. all i care about is love.

chorus: all he cares about is love.

billy: (sings) give me two eyes of blue, softly saying...

chorus: i need you!

billy: (sings) let me see her standin’ there, and, honest mister, i'm a millionaire!

scene 3

billy is more a showbiz pr agent than a legal lawyer and 20)manipulates the 21)tabloids into thinking roxie is no more than an innocent "good time girl" who took the wrong path, than a scheming murderess.

billy: alright. this is what we're gonna do. by the end of the week, i'm gonna have roxie's name on the front page of every newspaper in town. "sweetest little jazz killer ever been in chicago"--- that's the angle i'm after. we make an announcement, we're gonna have an 22)auction. tell 'em we gotta raise some money for the defense. they'll buy everything she's ever touched---everything: your shoes, your dresses, your perfume, your underwear.

roxie: 23)victrola records, like the one i was playing when i shot the bastard.

billy: i didn't hear that.

roxie: not that i didn't have grounds, mind you. hey, what are they?

billy: that's for when we go to trial. look, nobody, nobody's gonna care a lick what your defense is unless they care about you. so the first thing we gotta do is work up some sympathy from the press. and they're not all 24)pushovers like mary sunshine. but, there's one thing that they can never resist, and that is, a reformed sinner. alright, so tell me, who was your favorite subject in school?

roxie: thaowfth! that was a real dull ...

billy: now, come on, there musta' been something you're really good at.

roxie: oh, i got high marks in 25)courtesy and, ahh, 26)hygiene.

billy: perfect. you wanted to be a 27)nun.

roxie: (laughter) a nun?!

billy: where were you born?

roxie: on a chicken farm outside of lubbock.

billy: beautiful southern home filled with every luxury and 28)refinement. were your parents home?

roxie: probably on the front porch in their rocking chairs.

billy: parents dead! family fortune swept away! you we