NEW YORK — Alyssa Milano hopes to wow audiences when she makes her Broadway debut this fall in the musical “Chicago,” channeling her fame into a show about celebrity culture.
“The beauty of theater is you get to do something new every night,” he told The Associated Press. “That’s what I loved about doing theater. And I hope that’s what I get to do in ‘Chicago,’ too.”
Milano, the former star of “Who’s the Boss?” and “Charmed,” is playing Roxie Hart at the Ambassador Theatre for eight weeks, from Sept. 16 to Nov. 10.
For Milano, getting on stage is a return to her roots. She was in a national touring company of “Annie” at age 8 and has starred in Wendy Wasserstein’s “Tender Offer” at the off-Broadway Ensemble Studio Theatre and “All Night Long” at Second Stage. She was in the first American musical adaptation of “Jane Eyre” and produced and starred in the Los Angeles production of “Butterflies Are Free.”
Milano says working on Broadway never felt right until now. Her kids — ages 9 and 12 — are busy with school and extracurricular activities, and her husband is in a good place in his career.
“When the offer came in, it felt like everything was in place,” she says. “My 9-year-old daughter looked at me and said, ‘Mom, you’d be stupid not to do this.’”
In recent years, she has appeared in the films “Brazen” and “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” and the Netflix series “Insatiable.” Milano has also lent her stardom and voice to the #MeToo movement, launched a line of clothing, jewelry and eyewear and hosted Lifetime’s “Project Runway All-Stars.”
Set in the 1920s, “Chicago” is a scathing satire of how show business and the media turn criminals into celebrities. It features Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, skimpy outfits and groovy songs like “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango.”
“Chicago” is the story of Roxie, a housewife and dancer who murders her boyfriend after he threatens to leave her. To escape punishment, Roxie hires Chicago’s most cunning criminal lawyer to deceive the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by creating shocking headlines.
Milano says she wants to honor Ann Reinking — the iconic Fosse collaborator who originated Roxie in the 1996 revival and created the choreography in Fosse’s style. “I’m really trying to pay homage to her choreography and her portrayal of Roxie. Because she was so intense.”
The role of the celebrity-craving heroine at the center of “Chicago” has been played by dozens of women since the show debuted in 1996, including Pam Anderson, Melanie Griffith, Christie Brinkley, Marilu Henner, Brooke Shields, Lisa Rinna, Gretchen Mol, Ashlee Simpson, Brandy Norwood, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Givens.
Milano hopes fans will come and see her more than once. “I guarantee you I’ll keep finding things like this — finding little moments that will hopefully add to the legacy of all the women who came before me.”
This article is generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
