CHICAGO Extends Booking Period in London
by Best of Theatre Staff on Tuesday 20 March 2018, 11:36 am in West End News & Gossip
Even before previews have begun, the producers of the Kander & Ebb musical CHICAGO, winner of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy, have extended the booking period at the Phoenix Theatre in London until 6 October 2018. Following a successful UK and international tour, and after a 5½-year absence from London, the musical will open on Wednesday 11 April 2018, following previews from 26 March.
Casting for the new booking period will be announced nearer the time.
The cast for the first booking period, from 26 March to 30 June 2018, is led by Cuba Gooding Jr, Sarah Soetaert, Josefina Gabriell, Ruthie Henshall and Paul Rider. This cast will also feature Alan Richardson, Michelle Antrobus, Natalie Bennyworth, Nicola Coates, Frances Dee, Zoe Gappy, Emma Harris, Chelsea Labadini, Joanna Rennie, Abramo Ciullo, Francis Foreman, Luke Jarvis, Matt Krzan, Charles Ruhrmund, Todd Talbot, Callum Macdonald, Chris Warner Drake and Matthew Wesley.
CHICAGO originally ran in London for 15 years, making it the West End’s longest running revival. It first opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 18 November 1997 to rave reviews and immediately became a sell-out hit. CHICAGO won the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for 'Outstanding Musical Production' as well as the 1998 Critics Circle Drama Award for 'Best Musical'. CHICAGO transferred from the Adelphi Theatre to the Cambridge Theatre in April 2006, where it ran for five years until 27 August 2011. The show then opened at the Garrick Theatre on 7 November 2011, where it ran until 1 September 2012.
Since it opened in New York in 1996, CHICAGO has played in 36 countries worldwide, and been performed in English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, French, Danish, Japanese and Korean. It has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide and has played over 32,500 performances worldwide, with an estimated 31 million people around the world having seen CHICAGO.
CHICAGO continues to play on Broadway, where it recently celebrated its 21st birthday, and around the world in multiple languages. It is the world’s longest running American musical.
CHICAGO, which is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1996 Broadway revival of CHICAGO was choreographed by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse, directed by Walter Bobbie, and produced by Barry and Fran Weissler.