Broadway's Tony Award-Winning
Record-Breaking Musical Smash
CHICAGO
Welcomes NFL Legend & Heisman Trophy Winner
Eddie George
Making His Broadway Debut
In the Role of "Billy Flynn"
Beginning Monday, January 12, 2016
The Broadway company of the Tony Award-winning, record-breaking hit musical Chicagowill welcomeNFL Legend and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George making his Broadway debut in the role of Billy Flynn beginning Wednesday, January 12, 2016.He will play a 7-week limited engagement at the Ambassador Theatre (219 W. 49th St., NYC) through Sunday, February 28, 2016.
Eddie George makes his Broadway debut in Chicago following stage appearances in such works as Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man (Nashville Repertory Theatre), Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog (Amun Ra Theatre) and in the title roles of both Othello and Julius Caesar at the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. His transition to the stage completes the journey that he began following the conclusion of his NFL playing career, which saw him providing commentary and analysis for the Tennessee Titans and FOX’s college football coverage. George won screen time in such TV series as NBC’s American Dream Builders and in such films as Best Man Holiday and The Game Plan. Since then, George has worked to refine his craft onstage, including not only the credits indicated above, but also work with his Nashville-based theatrical troupe, Actors By George, which he founded in 2012. Eddie George won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 while playing for the Ohio State University. That honor served as the prelude to a nine-year career in the NFL, which saw him lead the Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV and selected to the Pro Bowl four consecutive years, finishing his career with the Dallas Cowboys under legendary coach Bill Parcells. Since the conclusion of his playing career, George has additionally received his MBA from Northwestern University and founded Edward George Wealth Management Group. He resides in Nashville with his wife of 11 years, Tamara Johnson, and his family. He is on the board of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville.
Chicago currently stars actress and “Dancing with the Stars” winner Rumer Willis as Roxie Hart (thru Nov. 1 only – Charlotte Kate Fox will play the role Nov. 2–15), international stage sensation Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly, Jason Danieley as Billy Flynn, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, NaTasha Yvette Williams as Matron “Mama” Morton and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine. Actress and TV sensation NeNe Leakes (Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”) will join the production in the role of Matron “Mama” Morton for 4 weeks only, November 23 – December 20, 2015.
With a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is now the #1 longest-running American musical in Broadway history.
Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.
Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking, Chicago features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer.
Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids.