“Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix will make her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.”
She will play the blonde-haired girl, whose name is on everyone’s lips, in a limited eight-week run from January 29 to March 24 at the Ambassador Theatre.
Maddix takes over the role previously played by Gwen Verdon and Anne Reinking. Musical theater chops were not a requirement to play Roxy; The Broadway production has tended to rely on exciting actors over the years with Brooke Shields, Ashlee Simpson, Melanie Griffith, Erika Jayne and Pamela Anderson from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” bringing glamor to the part.
The casting comes as Maddix’s real life has been in the headlines during a reality TV scandal dubbed #Scandoval. In early March, she found out her boyfriend Tom Sandoval was cheating on her with one of her close friends and Vanderpump co-star, Raquel Levis. In the aftermath, Maddix has been getting ready for the stage, recently competing on Dancing with the Stars. She also had several brand endorsements, a role in a Lifetime movie, and a guest appearance on “Love Island.” Madix, 38, from Florida, He previously told Glamor magazine She moved to New York City after college to be on Broadway. She spent years as a waiter and hostess before becoming a cast member on the Bravo series “Vanderpump Rules.”
With the recent closing of “Phantom of the Opera,” “Chicago” has become the longest-running musical on Broadway. The classic show, from Kander and Ebb/Bob Fosse, focuses on Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, two hilarious killers trying to cash in on their fame while awaiting trial in prison. Director Rob Marshall adapted it for the screen with the 2002 Academy Award-winning film starring Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
