Just weeks after her triumphant comeback choreographing and starring in the Broadway revival of Chicago Ann Reinking got some sad news Dec. 7: her mother died.
Reinking missed that day's performance and her understudy, Nancy Hess, is playing the lead role of Roxie Hart until further notice. Reinking's manager, Lee Gross, told Playbill On-Line that the elder Reinking "had been ill for a while."
Gross said he does not know how long the actress will be out of the Broadway hit.
Despite the plaudits for Chicago, this has been an difficult time for Reinking, as the Broadway-bound Paper Mill Playhouse production of Applause -- for which she provided choreography -- stalled on the road when reviews proved lukewarm.
Playbill On-Line extends sympathies to Reinking and her family.
