Mira Sorvino to star as Roxie Hart in ‘Chicago’ on Broadway

By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Mira Sorvino is about to cross off something else on her bucket list.

The Academy Award winner will make her Broadway debut this fall in “Chicago,” playing the spotlight-seeking Roxie Hart from Sept. 15-Nov. 2 at the Ambassador Theatre.

“I have wished to dance and sing in a Broadway musical since I was a small child. To join ‘Chicago,’ such a legendary show, and such an incredible cast past and present, is literally a dream come true,” Sorvino said in a statement Wednesday.

Set in the 1920s, “Chicago” is a scathing satire of how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals. It has Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, skimpy outfits and killer songs such as “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango.”

Sorvino won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Award for her performance in “Mighty Aphrodite,” going on to such films as Spike Lee’s “Summer of Sam,” Antoine Fuqua’s “Replacement Killers,” Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show” and the cult comedy “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.”

“Chicago” tells the story of Roxie, a housewife and dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to leave her. To avoid conviction, Roxie hires Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to help her dupe the public, media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by creating shocking headlines.

Roxie has been played by dozens of women since the show opened in 1996, including Pamela Anderson, Melanie Griffith, Ashley Graham. Christie Brinkley, Marilu Henner, Brooke Shields, Lisa Rinna, Gretchen Mol, Ashlee Simpson, Brandy Norwood, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Givens.