Pamela Anderson, best known for appearing several times in Playboy Magazine and playing Casey Jean “C.J.” Parker on TV’s Baywatch, will make her Broadway debut next month in the Tony-winning revival of Chicago.
For an eight-week limited engagement from April 12 – June 5, she will play the role of Roxie Hart at the Ambassador Theatre.
“I have always been a huge fan of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon’s work. Ann Reinking, too,” Anderson says in a statement. “Playing Roxie Hart is a dream fulfilled. Performing Fosse, you don’t have time to get in your head. You can’t dance, sing, and think at the same time. There is a freedom, a unique joy in knowing it’s all about the work. Playing Roxie Hart is a sweet escape for me.”
The original Broadway production of Chicago opened in 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 969 performances, until 1977. Fosse directed and choreographed the original production, and his style is strongly identified with the show. It debuted in the West End in 1979, where it ran for 600 performances, and it was revived on Broadway in 1996 as one of the three annual Encores! presentations offered by City Center
Chicago is now the second-longest running show in Broadway history, behind The Phantom of the Opera, and it surpassed Cats in 2014 when it played its 7,486th performance. Over the last 25 year, Chicago has been seen in 36 different countries by 33 million people worldwide.
The current production, produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, won the Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Musical” in 1997. Additionally, awards were given to Bebe Neuwirth for “Leading Actress,” James Naughton for “Leading Actor,” Walter Bobbie for “Best Direction,” Ken Billington for “Best Lighting Design,” and Reinking for “Best Choreography.”
Aside from acting and modeling, Anderson is also an activist, board member, and honorary director of PETA. In 2014, she founded The Pamela Anderson Foundation, which supports organizations and individuals that stand on the front lines, risking their lives to protect and preserve human, animal, and environmental rights.
Click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets for Chicago.
