Babatunde, who previously played Billy Flynn in the New York company of the Kander and Ebb musical and who created the role for the national touring company in 1997, will return to the Broadway cast April 17. Babatunde is scheduled to play slick lawyer Flynn through June 11. (Smokey Robinson had previously been announced to play Flynn April 24-June 11, but will be unable to do so due to "scheduling conflicts," according to a spokesperson for the musical.)

April 17 will also see the return of frequent Chicago stars d'Amboise and Braxton as, respectively, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly.

Chicago currently features Robin Givens as Roxie Hart, Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly, John O'Hurley as Billy Flynn, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, Lillias White as Matron "Mama" Morton and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.

Obba Babatunde received a Tony nomination for his work as C.C. White in Dreamgirls; his other Broadway credits include Timbuktu!, Reggae, It's So Nice to Be Civilized and Grind. His screen credits include "After the Sunset," "The Manchurian Candidate," "Material Girls" and "Half & Half."

Brenda Braxton received a 1995 Tony Award nomination, an NAACP Theater Award and Chicago's Jefferson Award for her work in the revue Smokey Joe's Cafe. Her other Broadway credits include Jelly's Last Jam, Cats, Legs Diamond and Dreamgirls. Braxton was also seen in the Off-Broadway musical Little Ham and the City Center Encores! mounting of House of Flowers. In addition to Chicago, Charlotte d'Amboise has starred on Broadway in Contact, Cats, Song and Dance, Carrie, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Damn Yankees, Company and Sweet Charity.

Chicago won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, director Walter Bobbie, lighting designer Ken Billington and choreographer Ann Reinking. The original production was directed and choreographed by the late Bob Fosse.

Chicago plays the Ambassador Theatre, located at 215 West 49th Street.