Alyssa Milano Is Gonna Paint the Town as CHICAGO's New Leading Lady

Alyssa Milano was eight years old when she began acting professionally. It wasn't on "Who's the Boss", which would premiere two years later, but on stage in the national tour of Annie. Though she is perhaps best known for her roles on television and film, Milano has always returned to her stage rooots, previously starring in shows at Ensemble Studio Theater, Second Stage, and even the first American musical adaptation of Jane Eyre.

This fall, she finally makes her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago. It wasn't her stage background that gave her the confidence to take the job, however.

"My daughter, who is 10, does musical theater in our little local community theater," she explained. "They put on these beautiful productions and she's done six plays. Just seeing her fearlessness has kind of given me the power and the strength to even consider coming back to theater. And so she was really influential in all of it."

Milano went through three intense days of auditions before learning that she got the part and was quick to admit that she had reservations about making the commitment.

"My daughter looked at me dead pan. She goes, 'You would be an idiot not to do this.' I was like, 'Guess what? I'm going to Broadway! When do we leave?'"

Who is her Roxie Hart? What's her take on the character? "I'm trying to straddle this line between her being a really empowered woman who's older than she ever intended to be, and someone with a very almost childlike enthusiasm. That's very much who I am as a person. I've got this strong woman thing, and I'm able to sit across the table from Ted Cruz and talk about gun violence prevention. But also I have this little girl quality because I grew up in a different way than other little girls. So, I think I'm constantly trying to relive a bit of my childhood."

Chicago is now the longest running American musical in Broadway history, meaning there have been plenty of other Roxies for Alyssa to draw inspiration from, but she is looking to the revival OG- the great Ann Reinking. 

"I think that there is no one who can touch what she was able to accomplish on Broadway and if I were emulating any Roxie... let's just say that she has been influential in my research," she explained.

"The choreography is not made for someone five foot two with very short legs. I mean, [Ann's] legs," she joked. "Also, she was classically trained, you know, and I...  I did hip-hop in my youth. So, so it's been very challenging to try to just embody even the posture." 

What part of being on Broadway is she most excited about? "It's the camaraderie- to have the rest of the cast to just to be with. And I think that that's something that is missing in the film industry nowadays. I think that there is an element of when you do your take, you go into your trailer and you're really hanging out with everyone. Here, from Day One I have felt so connected with everyone. I'm just really looking forward to being there. 

"And I think god that it is that way, because if I felt like I was doing this in a vacuum or my own little silo, I think I would be a lot more nervous, but I know that we're all in it together."