Stage, TV and screen stars are forever coming and going into the long-running revival of Chicago—and this summer, there seem to be more murderers, matrons, litigators and hapless husbands than ever. Read on for our guide to the comings and goings in the Cook County Jail (a.k.a. the Ambassador Theatre):
After headlining the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line, Charlotte d’Amboise has returned to the role of the headline-grabbing cold-blooded killer Roxie Hart through June 14. Bryn Dowling will step in June 15-28. Then Bonnie Langford—a Drama Desk nominee for belting out “Let Me Entertain You” as Baby June in the 1974 Angela Lansbury Gypsy—does a short stint from June 29-July 5 (Langford’s a former London Roxie) until Dancing With the Stars co-host Samantha Harris arrives on July 7. Harris will be the name on everybody’s lips until August 16.
Current “countess of the clink”—a.k.a. Matron Mama Morton—Sofia Vergara continues through June 7, when she’ll be succeeded by Grey’s Anatomy doc Chandra Wilson. Her shift lasts through July 5, when Roz Ryan returns for another round (through August 30) as the “mistress of murderers’ row.”
Tom Hewitt plays Billy Flynn, “the silver-tongued prince of the courtroom,” through July 5. Brent Barrett—who’s donned Billy’s legal briefs on Broadway before—takes over July 7 to August 9.
And Raymond Bokhour appears as Roxie’s meek auto-mechanic husband Amos through June 14. From June 15 to August 9, Tom Riis Farrell will be crooning “Mr. Cellophane.”
Here’s one that’s easy to keep track of: Amra-Faye Wright, who plays resident queen-bee Velma Kelly, will continue in the role all summer long.