Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Erika Jayne and Tony winner Paulo Szot (South Pacific) joined the Broadway production of Chicago beginning January 6 at the Ambassador Theatre.
Jayne makes her Broadway debut, assuming the role of Roxie Hart through March 29 in the hit revival. She is the latest star from the Real Housewives franchise to step into the long-running musical, following Atlanta’s NeNe Leakes and Kandi Burruss and Beverly Hills’ Lisa Rinna (albeit five years before joining the series). In addition to the Bravo series, Jayne's television oeuvre includes Dancing With the Stars, The Young and the Restless, and Lip Sync Battle.
Opera star Szot steps into the role of Billy Flynn for a four-week run through January 31, and is scheduled to return to the company for a nine-week run March 16–May 19. He made his Broadway debut as Emile de Becque in Lincoln Center Theater’s South Pacific in 2008, winning Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World Awards for his performance. He has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Scala di Milano, Paris Opera, Teatro Real (Madrid), London's Barbican, and more.
Jayne and Szot are joined onstage by by Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, NaTasha Yvette Williams as Matron “Mama” Morton, and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.
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, the staging is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.
Directed by Tony winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony winner Ann Reinking, Chicago features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony winner Ken Billington, sound design by Scott Lehrer, and casting by Stewart/Whitley.
