“Chicago” will welcome back two cast members next month. Bianca Marroquín and NaTasha Yvette Williams will rejoin the company of the musical on April 8, taking on the roles of Roxie Hart and Matron “Mama” Morton, respectively. Marroquín will replace Ariana Madix and Williams will succeed Haley Swindal, both of whom will play their final performance on April 7 at the Ambassador Theatre.
Both Marroquín and Williams have long associations with “Chicago,” each having played multiple tenures in their respective roles.
Marroquín first joined “Chicago” in 2002, making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart. Her most recent visit to “Chicago”’s Cook County jail was a 2023 tenure as Velma Kelly. She is one of a handful actors to have played separate stints as both Roxie and Velma; current Velma Robyn Hurder is also a former Roxie. Marroquín’s other Broadway credits include playing Carmen in the 2006 revival of “The Pajama Game” and replacing as Daniela in “In the Heights.”
A 2023 Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award nominee for her turn as Sweet Sue in “Some Like It Hot,” Williams is a winner of the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album as one its the principal vocalists. She first appeared as “Chicago”’s Mama in 2014. She made her Broadway debut replacing in 2007 as Sofia in the original production of “The Color Purple.” Williams’ other Main Stem credits include Mariah in the 2012 revival of “The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess,” two separate engagements (2017 and 2019) as Becky in “Waitress,” Brianna in 2021’s “Chicken & Biscuits” and replacing as Zelma in “Tina.”
In addition to Madix, Hurder and Swindal, the current principal cast of “Chicago” includes Max von Essen as Billy Flynn, Red Concepción as Amos Hart and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine. Casting is by ARC/Duncan Stewart.
Directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Ann Reinking, “Chicago” features a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The second-longest running musical in Broadway history, “Chicago” opened on Nov. 14, 1996.
“Chicago” is produced by Barry and Fran Weissler.
