The award-winning Kander and Ebb musical Chicago is coming to the Ipswich Regent. The dark-humoured show, directed on Broadway by the legendary Bob Fosse, was revived in the West End in the 1990s and starred Suffolk’s theatrical superstar Ruthie Henshall as Roxie Hart alongside Ute Lemper as Velma Kelly.
Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.
Ruthie went onto star in the American version of the show in New York and returned to London to rejoin the show in the early 21st century in order to play Velma, the contrasting, co-lead to Roxie, the role she played ten years earlier.
This latest version of the show has yet to be cast and will be arriving at the Ipswich Regent in July 2021. The winner of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy, Chicago is the longest running American musical in Broadway and West End history.
It features a clutch of show-stopping songs including “Razzle Dazzle”, “Cell Block Tango”, and “All That Jazz” along with a sexy, sassy score.
Since it opened in New York in 1996, Chicago has played in 36 countries worldwide. The show’s creators John Kander and Fred Ebb were also responsible for the award-winning Cabaret which was also a collaboration with the director/choreographer Bob Fosse.
Tickets for the Ipswich Regent performances go on general sale on Friday June 19 10am. More information will be posted on the Regent’s new website http://ipswichtheatres.co.uk soon.
Chicago, by Bob Fosse, John Kander and Fred Ebb, will be at the Ipswich Regent from July 5-10 2021.
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