Brent Barrett Will Return to Broadway's CHICAGO as 'Billy Flynn' Next Week

On Monday, January 20, the company of Broadway's Tony Award-winning musical smash Chicago is pleased to welcome back Olivier Award nominee Brent Barrett in a new return engagement to the starring role of "that silver-tongued Prince of the Courtroom," Billy Flynn.

One of the Chicago family's most celebrated leading men, Brent Barrett has entertained millions of fans around the world from the stages of Broadway, the West End, concerts halls, recording studios and television.

Prior to this most recent return to Chicago, he starred opposite Cathy Rigby in the national tour of Peter Pan. Before that, he starred for two year in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian Hotel.

Barrett received an Olivier Award nomination for his starring role in the London premiere of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate. He also starred in the City Center Encores! production of The Pajama Game and as King Arthur in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Camelot.

His other Broadway roles include the revival of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun opposite Reba McEntire, Dance a Little Closer, Grand Hotel, Candide and the 1980 revival of West Side Story.

Barrett has received critical acclaim when he performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, The Royal Albert and Royal Festival Halls in London, with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, Minnesota Opera, Opera Pacific, Michigan Opera, Kentucky Opera and the Birmingham Symphony.

Brent is the founding member and producer of The Broadway Tenors. He has recorded three solo albums: The Alan Jay Lerner Album, The Kander and Ebb Album and Christmas Mornings. He can also be heard on studio recordings of Brigadoon, Grand Hotel, Dance a Little Closer, Closer Than Ever, Show Stoppers, The Busby Berkeley Album, Lost in Boston IV, Unsung Musicals, Vol. III and The Maury Yeston Songbook.

His film and television credits include The Producers, Hercules, Longtime Companion, "All My Children," "Another World" and "Guiding Light."

In the role of Billy Flynn, Barrett succeeds Ryan Silverman, who plays his final performance on Sunday, January 19. Chicago currently stars Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly, two-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Fitzgerald as Amos Hart, two-time Tony and Emmy Award winner Bebe Neuwirth as Matron "Mama" Morton and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.

With a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is now the #1 longest-running American musical in Broadway history -- and it still shows no sign of ever slowing down!

Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.

Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago 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.

Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking, Chicago features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer.

Visit www.ChicagoTheMusical.com for more information.