NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 There's only one Roxie Hart. And yet 鈥 stay with us here 鈥 there are
The murderous, washed-up chorus girl is the beating, biting heart of Broadway's mainstay musical 鈥淐hicago,鈥 but no single actor owns her. She instead belongs to a revolving sisterhood of performers who, at a glance, have little in common 鈥 but all have donned a bowler hat and slinked across the stage.
There are the musical theater professionals far from household names. Others, much like Roxie herself, have notoriety but little stage experience. Some are ingenues on the cusp of fame. Some are world-weary, looking to reclaim the spotlight.
Since 1996, the list of Roxies has included Brooke Shields, Sandy Duncan, Christie Brinkley, Gretchen Mol, Brandy, Robin Givens, Lisa Rinna, Ashlee Simpson, 鈥淭rading Spaces鈥 host Paige Davis, 鈥淩uPaul鈥檚 Drag Race鈥 winner Jinkx Monsoon, and
鈥溾楥hicago鈥 is different,鈥 says Barry Weissler, a lead producer with his wife, Fran. 鈥淚t welcomes people constantly. There鈥檚 never a locked door where we鈥檙e concerned.鈥
Roxie isn't a cute role: She kills her lover and tries to get her dimwitted husband to take the blame. She grows insatiably hungry for fame behind bars and, after an acquittal, teams up with rival Velma to cash in with a revue. 鈥淭he name on everybody鈥檚 lips / Is gonna be Roxie,鈥 she purrs.
The revival has lasted for decades, attributable in part to often casting celebrities to lead a show about the venality of celebrity.
鈥淭he casting of this show falls in line with the show itself,鈥 says choreographer Greg Butler, who helps prepare actors in Los Angeles. 鈥淲e talk about celebrity and how celebrity is glorified. And yet, in a way, we glorify it.鈥
Glorified though they may be, the stars still have to perform. So how does 鈥淐hicago鈥 turn a reality star into Roxie?
Roxie's secret
Each Roxie needs to memorize their lines, sing and make it down a ladder in high heels. But there's elasticity built into the role.
The secret about Roxie: She has two really big songs 鈥 鈥淔unny Honey鈥 and 鈥淩oxie鈥 鈥 but the role isn鈥檛 as physically taxing as Velma's. And Roxie will always be taken care of.
鈥淚 always say when we bring these celebrities in, we must protect them so that everyone around them and every other part is a full-blooded Broadway pro,鈥 director Walter Bobbie reveals.
In 鈥淩oxie,鈥 the merry murderess is surrounded by smitten, superb male dancers.
鈥淩oxie could simply stand there and have seven men adore her and the number is delivered,鈥 Bobbie says.
Some Roxies need lots of work, including singing lessons. Some Roxies you leave alone. Take
鈥淟et her do whatever she wants,鈥 Weissler says. 鈥淪o she can鈥檛 do a somersault, she can鈥檛 do a split. It鈥檚 all right because she IS Roxie.鈥
The team tries to incorporate the star's signatures. Underneath Anderson's dress, for instance, the costume shop added fabric that looked like a bathing suit bottom, a nod to 鈥淏aywatch.鈥
鈥淣o one in the show tries to imitate anybody else鈥檚 performance. I always try to say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want you to play Roxie. I want you to find the Roxie in yourself,鈥欌 Bobbie says.
It all begins, though, with landing a willing celebrity.
Roxie's pitch
鈥淲hen I approach an agent for a star 鈥 no matter how big or small 鈥 I always say, 鈥楢sk not what you can do for 鈥淐hicago鈥 but what 鈥淐hicago鈥 can do for you,鈥欌 says Duncan Stewart, who has landed castmembers for nearly two decades.
Stewart, ARC vice president and casting director, emphasizes the part's glamour and razzle-dazzle in negotiations, as well as its relative ease. All you need is some training and the willingness to wear a black cocktail dress.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to dress up as a spoon or a fork. You don鈥檛 have to dress up in green paint and sing through the stratosphere,鈥 he says. 鈥淵ou can rehearse for four weeks and you can do a quick six-week run. You can get your Broadway debut and legacy in under eight weeks.鈥
Sometimes a celebrity will mull a pitch for years. Sometimes they need just days.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about the timing. It鈥檚 all about persistence and never accepting a no,鈥 Stewart says. (If a target Roxie ages out of the role, he says, the offer shifts to Matron 鈥淢ama鈥 Morton.)
Celebrities sign up for different reasons: is on their bucket list. Their latest tour sold poorly. They were recently divorced. They're doing it for their kids.
鈥淭hey need some way of saying to the world, 鈥業鈥檓 worthy. I can prove my mettle,鈥欌 says Stewart.
Once or twice a year he goes to a newsstand and buys $400 worth of magazines 鈥 Ebony, People, Variety, you name it. He hands them to his staff, along with black pens.
His instructions: 鈥淭here are no bad ideas. Circle everybody from these magazines and just write in black pen, 鈥楻oxie,鈥 鈥榁elma,鈥 鈥楤illy,鈥 鈥楢mos,鈥 鈥楳ama.鈥欌
The names go into a spreadsheet, which goes to the marketing team and producers, who score the names from one to five. One is terrible. Three, four and five prompt him to pursue interest and availability.
Stewart then puts together a dossier with background details on the potential Roxie 鈥 perhaps she played saxophone in high school or sang with a band. He delivers the report and any YouTube footage to the Weisslers.
With their green light, the offer goes out 鈥 contingent on a successful boot camp.
Roxie's boot camp
Like the military, Roxie鈥檚 boot camp is meant to build volunteers up 鈥 with a lot less screaming.
鈥淲e try to meet them where they are,鈥 says Butler, an associate choreographer since 2005 who performed in the show for 14 years and was a dance captain.
鈥淭hey have something that you can鈥檛 really teach them. They understand the idea of celebrity,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey are pulling from life.鈥
Butler usually asks the Roxie-to-be to draw on what they know: red carpets, news conferences, getting their pictures taken by paparazzi. They go from there.
鈥淯ltimately, your feet are probably going to have to leave the ground and you鈥檙e probably going to have to kick. So I鈥檓 going to have to teach you how to punch your foot,鈥 he tells his starry students.
He started one session with by asking her if she had a favorite pose. 鈥淎nd she was like, 鈥極h my God! I have this pose,鈥欌 Butler says. 鈥淲e used it and then she starts to build from that.鈥
The original 鈥淐hicago鈥 debuted on Broadway in 1975, directed by Bob Fosse. Butler credits 鈥 the iconic Fosse collaborator who originated Roxie in the 1996 revival and created the choreography in Fosse's style 鈥 with cracking how to accommodate the skillset of each successive Roxie. Vocal coaches also help find the right keys and approach to each song.
One of the harder things Roxie faces comes during the song 鈥淗ot Honey Rag.鈥 In a sequence nicknamed The Cakewalk, the actor must dance backward while executing a series of intricate hand movements. Trained dancers, like Reinking, rely on their strong cores. But Melanie Griffith, primarily a film actor, struggled with The Cakewalk. The two experimented with different ideas as Griffith prepared to become Roxie in 2003.
鈥淪he just started doing a move and Annie saw her do this thing and she went, 鈥極h my, God! OK. Do that again,鈥欌 he recalls.
What Griffith had done was fan her hands over her head and make her hips and hands move at the same time.
鈥淎nnie, said 鈥楾hat鈥檚 it. That鈥檚 your move,鈥欌 he recounts. 鈥淪o now there鈥檚 a step in the show that we call The Melanie, just in case I have an actress where The Cakewalk does not look awesome on them.鈥
Some elements may be tweaked but make no mistake: It's hard work.
鈥淭here鈥檚 new parts of my body that are sore that I didn鈥檛 know would actually get sore,鈥 says one of the newest Roxies, in the middle of her boot camp. 鈥淎nd I've been a dancer all my life.鈥
The Roxies who don't have extensive stage or dance backgrounds may feel vulnerable.
鈥淚 tell them that falls right in line with Roxie Hart,鈥 Butler says. 鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥楬oney, you are halfway there.鈥欌
One Roxie's experience
was more than halfway there. 鈥淭he Office鈥 star arrived not only able to sing, but also as a lifelong dancer, first in ballet and then in jazz.
Hardin was taught a few numbers in a Valley studio before flying to New York to perform in front of Weissler and his team.
She could tell they liked it.
鈥淏arry walks me to the window and kind of puts his arm around my shoulder and asks, 鈥榃here have you been? Why haven't I met you before?鈥欌 she remembers.
She got the job on the spot.
Fast-forward and Hardin in late 2008 made her Broadway debut, with her husband and two young daughters in the audience. When fans threw her roses, she'd try to toss them to her girls. She laughs that the crowd seemed more impressed by her somersault than nailing her Fosse steps.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely something that I will hold as one of the most joyful times of my life,鈥 says Hardin. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have asked for a more wonderful experience.鈥
Roxies rock 鈥楥hicago鈥 鈥 and beyond
Roxie has been kicking for more than 11,000 performances on Broadway, despite recession, storms, a pandemic and an Oscar-winning adaptation. 鈥淐hicago鈥 is the second longest-running show in Broadway history, behind only the now-closed In all, the musical has been seen by more than 32 million people across 36 countries and more than 500 cities.
鈥淭he show changes from actor to actor, from country to country, from city to city, from company to company,鈥 says Butler.
But Butler has his favorites. He still gets excited whenever one of his Roxies slays: 鈥淚t鈥檚 like giving birth. I鈥檓 just like, 鈥極h, my God, my little baby鈥檚 about to step up!鈥欌
Trends come and go, but 鈥淐hicago鈥 endures, fed by a plot replete with celebrity culture, greed and media manipulation. 鈥淚t keeps becoming more relevant, not less. More,鈥 says Weissler.
Bobbie bristles at critics who deride the revolving door as a gimmick: 鈥淵ou can call it stunt casting all you want. There鈥檚 an authenticity to it.鈥
He argues that 鈥淐hicago鈥 will always be different than most other Broadway shows.
鈥淭he guy doesn't get the girl. The girl gets the girl,鈥 he says with a laugh. 鈥淭his is about a romance with show business.鈥
___
Illustrations by Annie Ng.
___
Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
