Chicago
From Theatre Breaks
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Chicago in London
Chicago celebrated 5,000 London performances on its 12th London birthday when its cast took to the Cambridge Theatre stage on 18th November 2009.
The show will now move into its third West End home in 2011. Full dates are still to be confirmed, but Chicago is due to reopen at the Garrick Theatre in early November 2011.
The Kander and Ebb musical tells the tale of two showgirls, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, who find notoriety and fame when they both end up on the wrong side of the prison bars. Their only hope for release and increased pulling power is the sleazy, system-working lawyer Billy Flynn.
The sixth longest running show currently playing in London’s Theatreland, Chicago opened at the Adelphi theatre in 1997, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production the following year. Following nine successful years on the Strand, it transferred to the Cambridge theatre in 2006, celebrating its 10th anniversary there a year later.
Chicago London Theatre Breaks
| musical: Chicago | 
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| starring: America Ferrera & Amra-Faye Wright | |
| Book Now: Chicago theatre breaks | |
| opening night:7th November 2011 booking until January 2013 |
Chicago in London - Cast
Chicago Cast Announced: Darius Campbell as Billy Flynn
Darius Campbell will reprise the role of Billy Flynn,which he performed in 2006 where at the age of 25, he was the youngest actor ever to play the role.
American actress America Ferrera makes her West End stage debut in November 2011 playing Roxie Hart in Chicago the musical when it re-opens at the Garrick Theatre. She is the Emmy Award-winning actress who played TV’s Ugly Betty which ended in April 2010 after four seasons.
Following the previously announced casting of Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly and America Ferrera as Roxie Hart; it is confirmed that Jasna Ivir will return as Mama Morton, James Doherty will return to his role as Amos Hart and R. Whitehead as Mary Sunshine. These three actors performed in August at the Cambridge Theatre when the show closed before moving to the Garrick Theatre.
America Ferrera will play the role of Roxy for a limited 8 week run from 7th November 2011 and will be joined by Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly who is currently starring in the Broadway production and played the role in the West End opposite Christie Brinkley before the show closed earlier in 2011.
Cast Archive
Amra-Faye will be reprising her role of Velma Kelly in the musical Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre London from July 11th 2011. Joining her will be Christie Brinkley who will be performing as Roxie Hart. Both have just completed a highly successful run on Broadway in the same roles.
Amra-Faye has achieved international success as an actress and cabaret artist since first starring at Sun City’s Extravaganza Theatre in South Africa. As well as her native country she has also performed in the US, Europe and the Far East, with her role as Velma in the original UK and European tour of Chicago in her comprehensive list of credits.
Arguably, one of her most notable performances is that she has performed the role of Velma Kelly in Japanese! Amra-Faye made her West End debut in 2001 as Velma Kelly in Chicago when the show was at the Adelphi Theatre
David Bedella (Rocky Horror Show, Jerry Springer The Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, Smokey Joe’s Café) is taking over as Billy Flynn for a limited season in Chicago the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre from 28th February until 6th April 2011
Chicago the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre is undergoing some cast changes later in October 2010.
Sarah Soetaert will be taking over from Emma Barton and returning as Roxie from Monday 25th October 2010 and Vivien Carter has extended her role as Velma until the 5th December 2010.
Daniel Goode will be playing Amos from October 25th 2010.
The casting of Chicago periodically brings in unusual celebrities which help to give the show legs, e.g. Jerry Springer. Billed as London’s Sexiest Musical Chicago's history in London has seen a collection of stars take on the sexy leading roles, including Ruthie Henshall, Henry Goodman, Nigel Planer, Denise Van Outen, Suzanne Shaw, Alison Moyet, Michelle Williams, Kelly Osbourne, Jerry Springer, David Hasselhoff and John Barrowman.
Ruthie Henshall In Chicago London
Ruthie Henshall is to return to Chicago in London for a nine week season between 14 December and 28 February, to play Roxie Hart, the role she originated when the musical first opened in London 12 years ago.
West End regular and Dancing On Ice judge Henshall is joined in the cast by Terra C MacLeod, who will play Velma Kelly, a role she originated in the French production of Chicago. Chicago regulars Ian Kelsey and David Ganly continue in the show, playing Amos Hart and Billy Flynn.
Chicago UK Tour
Chicago the musical closes at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End on 27th August 2011, but it is going on tour in 2012.
The first two dates are in March at the Palace Theatre Manchester 19th-24th March 2012, and Sunderland Empire on the 26th-31st March 2012.
Odd facts about Chicago
- Before hitting the screen on Pop Idol, Darius was actually classically trained at the Scottish Opera as a teenager, he also won Popstar to Opera star in 2010.
- Darius has played Billy Flynn before in 2006, when he was the youngest ever Billy at the age of 25.
- The London production has used over 14,871 pairs of tights, 581 metres of fishnet fabric, 871 metres of black lace fabric, 760 pairs of men’s socks, 136,520 hairpins, 9,666 hair grips and 2,321 litres of washing up liquid.
- Chicago the Musical has been performed in English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian and French.
- The only shows to have played Broadway for longer are Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Cats: all these musicals are British imports.
- The musical Chicago has won six Tony awards, two Olivier Awards and one Grammy Award for Best Musical Album.
- Apart from Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere in the film-version, the musical is known to have celebrities take on the leads: eg. Denise Van Outen, Jerry Springer, Usher, Brooke Shields, David Hasselhoff, John Barrowman, Ashlee Simpson and most recently Christy Brinkley.
- Originally Chicago was a play written by Maurine Dallas Watkins in 1926. She was a crime-reporter and she based her story on a real life murder trial in which a flapper and a cabaret singer were found not guilty thanks to the antics of their lawyers.
- Eventually Bob Fosse turned Chicago into a musical in 1975 when it was only a minor hit, and hence the 1996 run won a Tony for Best Musical Revival.
- The character of Roxie Hart is based on Beulah May Annan. Maurine Dallas Watkins, who wrote the play Chicago, reported on Ms Annan’s murder trial in which Beulah claimed she and the victim both reached for the gun... She was later acquitted.
- The original version of Chicago the play was staged in 1924 and turned into a silent film in 1927.
- Belva Gaertner, who was the inspiration for Velma Kelly, attended the 1920s play. She was a cabaret singer who was found soaked in blood, a dead young man, a gun and a bottle of gin in her car. She was acquitted and lived died in 1965 at the age of 80.
