Tom Wopat to Return to Broadway's Chicago in December

By Andrew Gans
November 23, 2004

Tom Wopat, whose Broadway credits include the revivals of 42nd Street and Annie Get Your Gun, will return to the role of Billy Flynn in December.

Wopat is scheduled to play the slick lawyer in Kander and Ebb's Chicago beginning Dec. 7. A spokesperson for the musical confirmed that Wopat will replace Wayne Brady, whose final performance in the musical at the Ambassador Theatre is Dec 4. Wopat will stay with the Broadway company through Dec. 19.

Chicago — featuring a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb — currently stars Wayne Brady as Billy Flynn, Charlotte d'Amboise as Roxie Hart, Terra C. MacLeod as Velma Kelly, Anne L. Nathan as Matron Mama Morton, P.J. Benjamin as Amos Hart and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.

Tom Wopat received a Tony nomination for his role as Frank Butler opposite Bernadette Peters in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun, and recently starred as Julian Marsh in the 42nd Street revival. His other theatrical credits include I Love My Wife, Carousel, City of Angels and Guys and Dolls. Perhaps best known for his seven-season run on "The Dukes of Hazzard," Wopat has also released several albums with CBS and Capitol Records.

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.

For more information visit www.chicagothemusical.com.