The Reporter Behind Chicago

The woman who invented Roxie Hart spent her life turning down the musical.

Collection: Chicago · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, on trial, 1924 · Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.

Open this place in Peplos Install on iPhone Join the Android test

Already installed? The first button opens this exact place. After installing, return here and tap it.

Open this link on your phone to go to this place in the app.

How to install the early version through TestFlight

Get TestFlight. Tap the button, then go to the App Store from Apple’s page. TestFlight is Apple’s free app for early versions.
Come back here and tap the button again. In TestFlight, accept the invitation and install Peplos.

After installing Peplos, return to this page and tap “Open this place in Peplos”.

How the story begins

Bob Fosse kept asking, and Maurine Watkins kept saying no. He wanted the rights to Chicago, her old play, about two women she believed had got away with murder. In 1924 she was a new reporter on the Chicago Tribune, working the criminal trials in this courthouse. A man was found shot in Belva Gaertner's car, with gin and a pistol on the floor. Gaertner, a cabaret singer, said she had been too drunk to remember.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.