AshLee Simpson has been announced to play Roxie Hart in the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming production of CHICAGO, the musical which holds the record as the third longest running show in Broadway history. The production will also star previously announced Samantha Barks as Velma, Drew Careyas Amos, Lucy Lawless as Mama Morton, and Stephen Moyer as Billy.
CHICAGO will have three performances at the Hollywood Bowl - Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27 at 8:00pm, and Sunday, July 28 at 7:30pm. Subscriptions and single tickets are available now for the Hollywood Bowl 2013 summer season at HollywoodBowl.com or Ticketmaster.com, or via phone at 323.850.2000 or 800.745.3000 and in person at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office. For more information, please call 323.850.2000.
In 2006, Ashlee made her professional stage debut as
Roxie Hart in the West End production of Chicago. She received unanimous critical acclaim for her portrayal. She later reprised the role for her Broadway debut. On the small screen, Ashlee became a series regular on the CW's reboot of Melrose Place in 2009. Already a household name, she starred in the highly rated MTV reality series, The
AshLee Simpson Show. She also appears in 2013's dark comedy The Pawn Shop Chronicles.
Her albums include Autobiography, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and eventually went triple-platinum, followed by I Am Me and Bittersweet World. Ashlee's upcoming fourth album is preceded by the viral release of the sultry and sexy "Bat For a Heart" music video.
Brooke Shields will direct the fully staged production of CHICAGO at the Hollywood Bowl.
Shields starred in CHICAGO both on Broadway and in London's West End and this marks her directing debut.
Rob Fisher will serve as the conductor of the production. Fisher's association with the show began with the 1996 Broadway revival and he continues to be supervising music director of CHICA
Go Productions around the globe.
CHICAGO has music by
John Kander, lyrics by
Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and
Bob Fosse. Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same name by reporter
Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals and crimes she reported on. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal."
The original Broadway production opened in 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 936 performances until 1977.
Bob Fosse also choreographed the original production. CHICAGO was revived on Broadway in 1996, and a year later in the West End. The Broadway revival holds the record for the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, and is the third longest-running show in Broadway history having played more than 6,700 performances to date. The West End revival ran for nearly 15 years, becoming the longest-running American musical in West End history, and it has enjoyed several tours and international productions. The Academy Award-winning 2002 film version of the musical was directed by
Rob Marshall.
The recent history of Broadway musicals at the Hollywood Bowl is nothing short of spectacular, including RENT (starring
Vanessa Hudgens,
Nicole Scherzinger, and
Wayne Brady, directed by
Neil Patrick Harris), HAIRSPRAY (starring
Harvey Fierstein,
Drew Carey,
John Stamos, and
Nick Jonas, directed and choreographed by
Jerry Mitchell) and THE PRODUCERS (starring
Jesse Tyler Ferguson,
Richard Kind,
Rebecca Romijn, and
Dane Cook, directed and choreographed by
Susan Stroman).
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and is home to the best and brightest in all genres of music. It remains one of the best deals in Los Angeles; to this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. The venue offers something for everyone, from its sizzling summer evening concerts to the daytime summer arts festival for children, "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," now in its 44th season. In February 2013, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the ninth year in a row at the 24th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards. The Hollywood Bowl has become synonymous with summer in Southern California.
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