Chicago will become 2nd longest-running Broadway show

The Broadway production of Chicago is already the second longest-running production currently playing on Broadway, however, on 23 November 2014, it will officially become the second longest-running Broadway show of all time, when it surpasses Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats with its 7,486th performance. It also already claims the titles of Broadway's longest-running musical revival, as well as the longest-running American show in Broadway history. It has been playing on the Great White Way since 14 November 1996, and it moved to its current home, the Ambassador Theatre, on the 29 January 2003.

To mark this momentous occasion, on the milestone performance on 23 November, there will be special appearances by the production's original stars, including Bebe Neuwirth (Velma Kelly), James Naughton (Billy Flynn), Ann Reinking (Roxie Hart), and Joel Grey (Amos Hart).

The current cast of Chicago includes Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, Amra-Fay Wright as Velma Kelly, Christopher Fitzgerald as Billy Flynn, Paul C. Vogt as Amos Hart, Carmen Ruby Floyd as Matron Mama Morton, and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.

Chicago follows not your usual housewife, Roxie Hart, who gains dubious notoriety when she kills her boyfriend, invents her defence and manipulates everyone from her trustworthy husband to the fickle media and the unsuspecting public. The show features the well known songs, 'All That Jazz,' 'Razzle Dazzle' and 'Mr. Cellophane'.

The musical features a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with a book by Bob Fosse & Fred Ebb. The revival production is directed by Walter Bobbie, with choreography by Ann Reinking, scene design by John Lee Beatty, costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Ken Billington and sound by Scott Lehrer.

Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording. The show is currently booking to 4 January 2015.

- by Tom Millward