Long-standing Chicago regulars Josefina Gabrielle and Amra-Faye Wright dust off their jazz hands and fishnets as they return to the cast of the musical at the Cambridge from 7 May to play fame-hungry showgirls Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly.
This is the sixth season in Chicago for Gabrielle, who first appeared in the show in 2000. Her other London theatre credits include The Witches Of Eastwick, Oklahoma! and Singin’ In The Rain. South African actress Wright has frequently performed in the UK and in her native country. She has played Velma on tour and in the West End. Both Wright and Gabrielle have also appeared in Chicago on Broadway.
Susie McKenna, actress and associate director of Hackney Empire, where she regularly writes and directs the annual pantomime, joins the cast to play Mama Morton. Michael Simkins and Matthew Lloyd Davies, currently playing sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn and Roxie’s nerdy husband Amos Hart respectively, continue in their roles.
Chicago has been playing at the Cambridge in Seven Dials for a year, after moving from its original home, the Adelphi, where it ran for more than eight years. The Kander and Ebb musical tells the story of two showgirls who will do anything to become famous, and the flashy lawyer who helps turn their wrongdoing into infamy.