Take Two

Okay, yesterday we saw from the revival.  Today, it's the real deal.  The original production of Chicago.  Here are Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera doing the same number as before -- "Nowadays" leading into "Hot Honey Rag."

The video quality isn't very good.  But with these legendary performers, that's secondary.  It's interesting to see how close Ann Reinking's choreography in the revival based on Bob Fosse's original was so close, though with a few tweaks. 

This comes from the live variety show that Howard Cosell hosted briefly.  Yes, Howard Cosell.  The show wasn't bad -- one of the thoughts was that Cosell would have some of the same uncomfortableness as a host that Ed Sullivan had, which audiences loved.  That was the case.  The problem was that Ed Sullivan actually knew entertainment and had great sense of what would work.  Also, while the two were both awkward, Cosell was not particularly endearing.  And third, times had changed, and TV variety was on the decline.  

But fortunately, the show gave us stuff like this...