It's the second-longest running show in Broadway history (after The Phantom of the Opera) and the longest-running American show in Broadway history.
See where it stands among Broadway's all-time long-running champs.
The current Broadway company features Veronica Dunne as Roxie Hart, Lana Gordon as Velma Kelly, Paul Nolan as Billy Flynn, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, NaTasha Yvette Williams as Mama Morton, and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.
Attendees can expect surprise guests at the curtain call and several speeches.
The revival of Chicago began life as one of the three annual Encores! presentations offered by City Center. The musical opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in November 1996, where it remained through February 1997. The musical transferred to the Shubert Theatre February 11, 1997, and played that house through January 26, 2003. The revival reopened at the Ambassador Theatre, its current home, January 29, 2003.
Check out photos from Chicago's 8,000th performance celebration below:
With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Ebb, Chicago is now the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.
Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, Chicago won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, director Walter Bobbie, lighting designer Ken Billington, and choreographer Ann Reinking.
The original production was directed and choreographed by the late Bob Fosse.
“Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s,” Chicago, according to press notes, “is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids.”
Look below for photos celebrating the musical's 20th anniversary:
The Ambassador Theatre is located at 219 W. 49th Street. Click here for more information.
