News

Ex-Eastender Emma Barton will tread the boards in the West End at the end of this month as Roxie Hart in the award winning Chicago.

Barton, best known for playing Honey Mitchell in EastEnders, will take over from Ruthie Henshall on the 26 April. Barton is no stranger to the razzle dazzle of Chicago, having previously played the imprisoned performer on the UK tour last year. Barton has a host of stage credits including Grease, Love Shack and The Secret Garden.

Vivien Carter will also join the cast as Velma Kelly, replacing Anna-Jane Casey. Terence Maynard and Adam Stafford will continue in their roles of Billy Flynn and Amos Hart.

Chicago is described in its opening number as a ‘story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery’. The show opened at the Adelphi Theatre in 1997, running for 9 years until transferring to the Cambridge Theatre in 2006.

With origins in true events, Chicago tells the story of chorus girl Roxie Hart who is imprisoned whilst awaiting trial for the murder of her lover, nightclub regular Fred Casely. Inside the women’s block at Cook County Jail, vaudevillian Velma Kelly is the media’s murderer-of-the-week, pushed to the top of the bill by corrupt Matron ‘Mama Morton’. Velma is not happy, especially when Roxie begins to steal not only her limelight but also her lawyer.

The multi-award winning production is a truly international show, complete with dazzling and sexy choreography and a sultry score including ‘All That Jazz’ and ‘Mr Cellophane’.