Brooke Shields will extend her star turn as Roxie Hart in the West End production of Chicago, playing the killer chorine for an extra five weeks through July 30th. She opened in the show on April 26th.
The statuesque Shields, who got her start in modelling and film, has been a Broadway presence in recent years--getting her feet wet as Rizzo inGrease, as Sally in Cabaret, and as Donna Murphy's successor in Wonderful Town, for
which she received glowing reviews. On film, she has appeared in Pretty Baby (her controversial breakout role), Just You and Me, Kid, Brenda Starr, Blue Lagoon and The Bachelor, as well as having starred on the TV series "Suddenly Susan" for several years; she earned two Golden Globe nominations for her performance on the sitcom. She made her professional theatre debut in a 1986 off-Broadway production of Marguerite Duras' The Eden Cinema.The Broadway revival of Chicago,
which opened on November 14th 1996, is currently playing at the Ambassador Theatre.
The musical, with a score by Kander and Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, opened
with Ann Reinking as Roxie, Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, Joel Grey as Amos
and James Naughton as Billy. Under Walter Bobbie's direction and
Reinking's choreography, Chicagoreceived
6 1997 Tonys (including Best Revival of a Musical). The revival, based
on Bobbie's stylistically stripped-down Encores! staging, featured
direction and choreography by Fosse in its original 1975
production.
In the London production, Charley Izabella King co-stars as Velma Kelly, with Clarke Peters as Billy Flynn, Robert Hands as Amos Hart and Zee Asha as Mama Morton. Ruthie Henshall and Ute Lemper originally starred as Roxie and Velma in the London transfer.
