Interview: Taylor Lane And Ellie Roddy on Becoming CHICAGO's Infamous Duo

Get ready to be razzle-dazzled—again!—when the tenth national tour of Chicago stops at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles March 14-16. 

The Tony Award-winning Bob Fosse musical, which tells that infamous “story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery” is the #1 longest-running American musical on Broadway, premiering in 1975 and running for more than 11,000 performances. 

The current tour, which began in November and runs through June, stars Taylor Lane as Velma Kelly, Ellie Roddy as Roxie Hart, and Connor Sullivan as defense attorney Billy Flynn.

Lane and Roddy sat down with Broadway World to talk about the show, the tour—and how their characters’ fierce onstage rivalry is anything but when they’re offstage. 

First of all, I want to say I love Chicago. It’s one of my favorite shows, and I’m super excited to talk to you both and see the show. 

Lane and Roddy: Fantastic!

So, these are iconic roles that you’re playing. How does it feel to step into such legendary characters?

Lane: It’s really special. These are roles that so many great women have played, and now we get to bring our own individuality to them. You think of all of these great women that have stepped into these roles, and now we get to be one of them, and we get to add our own flavor to it, which is so special. I find that I’m still learning something new every single time I step into the role. 

Roddy: The originators of these roles are just powerhouse women and are legends in the industry. So to step into the shoes of the two original women is scary—and to see all the other women who have filled those shoes as well—it’s like, holy smokes! They saw the same spark in those women and now they see it in me. I have to trust that I’m going to bring to the table the same addition that they did.  

What do you add to the role to make it your own?

Lane: It’s about staying present. We’ve done the show over a hundred times at this point. It’s easy to slip into autopilot where I know what I’m about to say and where I’m about to step and what gesture I’m about to do. Our choreographer has challenged us to still be present in the moment, to still listen and find something new every night. Don’t let it get stagnant. 

Is it intimidating knowing people will compare you to past performers?

Lane: Definitely, at first. It’s human nature to be like, Oh, man, I hope they like me as much as they liked them. But each cast creates its own versions of these characters. People are going to compare, but you just have to go out there and trust that, you know, I’m doing Velma to the best of my ability. 

So, yes and no. You kind of have to let that go but it’s kind of always there. 

Do you relate to your characters at all?

Roddy: Yes and no. Roxy is very spontaneous, whereas I like to think things through. But her drive, passion, and ambition, I resonate with that. She talks about how she’s been rejected; how her whole life has been filled with ‘no’ and this is the one time things are starting to show up as ‘yes.’ 

As actors, we face that no so often, and when we finally get a yes, it makes all the ‘no’s worth it. That’s how Roxy feels in the show.

Lane: Velma is the more experienced performer, she’s respected, she’s been around the block a few times. And besides our ‘Mama,’ I’m the oldest in our cast. 

How old are you? 

Lane: I’m 30. I have almost 10 years on some of the girls in our show, who are phenomenal. But overnight I blinked and went from being the youngest to the more mature. It’s like, ‘Oh wow, when did that happen?’ And I think Velma also has those realizations. Being older in this industry, I can relate to trying to stay relevant while younger people are coming in who also deserve to be there.  

You two are playing rivals on stage. Offstage, is there any competition between you?

Lane: Oh my gosh, we’re so close. [Turns to Roddy] I don’t feel competitive with you at all. If anything, I feel like we root for each other more than we do for ourselves. We were in final callbacks together, and I remember thinking, “If she doesn't take my job, I hope that we get to do it together,” and, “If she takes my job, it's so worth it because she was so good.” When I saw we were cast together, I was so excited to work with her and alongside her. 

[To Roddy] You pushed me to be a better actress and scene partner. And we just have so much fun! Like, it's weird to be upset with each other on stage, because you're kind of hiding that smirk of like, ‘I love you.’

Roddy: We are very lucky that we hang out outside the show so often, and we also enjoy performing together. 

Lane: We lucked out that we genuinely like each other.

Roddy: I feel like I’ve learned from you. It’s not a competition. 

OK, you guys are giving Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo vibes right now.

[both laugh and touch fingers] Yeah. 

Have there been moments on stage where you’ve had to hold in laughter?

Lane: I don’t think we’ve ever broken, but there have definitely been moments where we’re very aware that we’re still in character while our inner selves are like, ‘What’s going on?’ You know, like if someone just spit in my eye or if I’m trying so hard not to laugh because we’re supposed to be very angry in a scene, but also that was very funny. We’ve been very good at not letting it show.

Let us in on a secret from the show. Is there a scene where you throw in improv, or one that is particularly challenging?  

Lane: In the song 'Sister Act,' we have a little banter section where I do this whole routine where I’m like, ‘What do you think? Do you love it?” And I’m trying to win her over and she’s not even smiling at me. It varies every night in what we say to each other and how funny [Roxy] wants to be with, you know, shutting me down. 

There are a lot of strong women in the show. What’s that like behind the scenes?  

Roddy: We’re so bonded. Across the board, we as a company are rooting for each other. Specifically the women—everyone wants to uplift everyone. 

Lane: We really lucked out. We all really care about this show and we all want to work hard for it and lift each other up. Also, there’s not a lot of shows out there that have this many women’s stories that need to be told. We have voices and we get to use them. And the cherry on top is that we all really care for each other. 

Are you doing anything fun while you’re in LA?

Lane: I went to college in California, so lived in LA for five years. I have a bunch of friends and some family that I’m very excited to see while we’re there.

Where did you go to college?

Lane: It's called The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts. It's in Corona. And then I stayed and I worked at Disneyland. So I was in Anaheim and I was a Disney girl there.  We actually have about five or six Disney people in the cast. 

Where do you go from here? What’s your dream role on Broadway?

Lane: Other than Roxy and Velma, I don’t know... 

Roddy: We would play these girls forever if we could. 

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