NEW YORK – Alyssa Milano hopes to charm audiences when she makes her Broadway debut this fall in the musical “Chicago,” adding her celebrity to a show that skewers celebrity culture.
“The beauty of theater is that you get to try new things every night,” she tells The Associated Press. “That’s what I used to love about doing theater. And that’s what I hope that I can find again in doing ‘Chicago.’”
Milano, former star of “Who’s the Boss?” and “Charmed,” steps into the role of Roxie Hart at the Ambassador Theatre beginning Sept. 16 for an eight-week engagement through Nov. 10.
For Milano, hitting the stage is a return to her roots. She was in a national touring company of “Annie” at age 8 and she went on to star in Wendy Wasserstein’s “Tender Offer” at the off-Broadway Ensemble Studio Theater and “All Night Long” at Second Stage. She was in the first American musical adaptation of “Jane Eyre” and produced and starred in a Los Angeles production of “Butterflies Are Free.”
Milano says doing a stint on Broadway never felt right until now. Her children — ages 9 and 12 — are settled in school and extracurricular activities, and her husband is in a good place in his career.
“It just felt like when this offer came up that everything fell into place,” she says. “My 9-year-old daughter looked at me and said, ‘Mom, you would be an idiot not to do this.’”
In recent years, she was in the movies “Brazen” and “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” and the Netflix series “Insatiable.” Milano also leant her stardom and voice to the #MeToo movement, launched clothing, jewelry and eyewear lines and has been a host of Lifetime’s “Project Runway All-Stars.”
Set in the 1920s, “Chicago” is a scathing satire of how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals. It has Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, skimpy outfits and killer songs such as “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango.”
“Chicago” tells the story of Roxie, a housewife and dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to leave her. To avoid conviction, Roxie hires Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to help her dupe the public, media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by creating shocking headlines.
Milano says she wants to honor Ann Reinking — the iconic Fosse collaborator who originated Roxie in the 1996 revival and created the choreography in Fosse’s style. “I’m really trying to pay homage to her choreography and her portrayal of Roxie. Because she was profound.”
The celebrity-craving heroine at the heart of “Chicago″ has been played by dozens of women since the show opened in 1996, including Pam Anderson, Melanie Griffith, Christie Brinkley, Marilu Henner, Brooke Shields, Lisa Rinna, Gretchen Mol, Ashlee Simpson, Brandy Norwood, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Givens.
Milano hopes fans will come and see her more than once. “I guarantee you I’m going to keep finding things — keep finding little moments that will, hopefully, add onto the legacy of all the women who came before me.”
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