The original Broadway version of Chicago opened at the 46th Street Theatre on June 1 1975, running for 898 performances and closing on August 27, 1977. Also that year, the show began touring in the U.S., and there have been numerous productions of the original version throughout the world. The original London production opened at the Cambridge Theatre on April 10, 1979 and ran for 603 performances.

The Broadway revival opened on February 12, 1997 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and won 6 Tony Awards, for Best Musical, Best Actor (James Naughton), Best Actress (Bebe Neuwirth), Best Director, Lighting and Choreography. This production is still open, although it has moved to the Shubert Theatre, and now to the Ambassador Theatre instead. The London version opened at the Adelphi Theatre on November 18, 1997 and is still currently running there as well. A German version of the revival was mounted in Basel, Switzerland, closing on February 4, 2001. There has also been a Dutch version of the revival which closed on January 28, 2000. The show has recently played in France and Brazil.