Martin Kemp To Star In CHICAGO In London

Martin Kemp will star as smooth-talking lawyer Billy Flynn in the multi award-winning Chicago at The Phoenix Theatre in London's West End from Monday 2 July for a limited season until Saturday 1 September 2018. The rest of the cast who will be appearing alongside Martin Kemp are still to be announced.

Martin Kemp's acting credits include Reggie Kray alongside his brother Gary as Ronnie Kray in the film The Krays, Steve Owen in EastEnders, and Sam Phillips in the UK tour of Million Dollar Quartet. He is also, of course, one quarter of the band Spandau Ballet, and his book, True - An Autobiography of Martin Kemp, spent several months in The Sunday Times best sellers list. He also appeared as a judge on the BBC's Let It Shine, alongside Dannii Minogue and Gary Barlow.

Following a successful UK and international tour, and after a 5½-year absence from London, the multi award-winning Kander & Ebb musical Chicago, winner of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy, began performances at The Phoenix Theatre in London on Monday 26 March, with a press night on Wednesday 11 April. The current booking period is until 6 October 2018.

The cast for the first booking period, from 26 March to 30 June 2018, is led by Cuba Gooding Jr, Sarah Soetaert, Josefina Gabrielle, Ruthie Henshall and Paul Rider as Billy Flynn, Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly, Mama Morton and Amos Hart respectively.

CHICAGO originally ran in London for 15 years, making it the West End's longest running revival. It first opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 18 November 1997 to rave reviews and immediately became a sell-out hit. CHICAGO won the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for 'Outstanding Musical Production' as well as the 1998 Critics Circle Drama Award for 'Best Musical'. CHICAGO transferred from the Adelphi Theatre to the Cambridge Theatre in April 2006, where it ran for five years until 27 August 2011. The show then opened at the Garrick Theatre on 7 November 2011, where it ran until 1 September 2012.

Since it opened in New York in 1996, Chicago has played in 36 countries worldwide, and been performed in English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, French, Danish, Japanese and Korean. It has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide and has played over 32,500 performances worldwide, with an estimated 31 million people around the world having seen Chicago.

CHICAGO continues to play on Broadway, where it celebrated its 21st birthday last year, and around the world in multiple languages. It is the world's longest running American musical.

CHICAGO, which is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1996 Broadway revival of Chicago was choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse, directed by Walter Bobbie, and produced by Barry and Fran Weissler.