Ruthie Henshall to play Mama Morton in Chicago in the West End
Further casting has been announced for the upcoming West End revival of Chicago, which will open at the Phoenix Theatre next month.
Joining the previously announced Cuba Gooding Jnr. as Billy Flynn will be Ruthie Henshall as Mama Morton, Sarah Soetaert as Roxie and Josefina Gabrielle as Velma.
Ruthie Henshall made her West End debut in Cats in 1987, and was nominated for an Olivier Award when she played Roxie in the 1997 London revival of Chicago. She also appeared in the musical on Broadway, this time playing Roxie in 2010. In the upcoming West End production, she will play Mama Morton, the matron of the jail where Roxie and Velma are being held.
Sarah Soetaert played Roxie Hart in the West End in 2007, when Chicago ran at the Cambridge Theatre, and she will return to the role this spring in this new production. Her other stage credits include The Sound of Music, Kiss Me Kate and The Glenn Miller Story.
Josefina Gabrielle has previously appeared in Oklahoma!, Sweet Charity and Merrily We Roll Along - she received an Olivier Award nomination in each production. Gabrielle also appeared in the Cambridge Theatre production of Chicago, playing Roxie from October 2006. She will play Velma at the Phoenix.
Chicago, which has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, is about Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly who rise to fame as their murder trials capture the press' attention. It is based on Maurine Dallas Watkins' 1926 play of the same name which is about crimes she reported on as a journalist.
Chicago is at the Phoenix Theatre from 26th March to 23rd June.
Chicago Tickets are available now.
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