By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Model and entrepreneur Ashley Graham will make her Broadway debut this spring in the musical “Chicago,” adding her celebrity to a show that gleefully skewers celebrity culture.
Graham, who made Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the Word” in 2017 and Glamour’s “Woman of the Year” in 2016, will play Roxie Hart from April 15-May 25 at the Ambassador Theatre.
“I’m honored to make my Broadway debut as the iconic Roxie Hart,” she said in a statement. “I’m deeply grateful to be able to embrace this new challenge and excited to share the stage with this incredible company.”
Graham made it into the mainstream when she appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 2016, which led to the cover of Vogue magazine and a gig as a judge on “America’s Next Top Model.”
She also wrote the memoir, “A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty & Power Really Look Like” and most recently hosted Roku’s “Side Hustlers” and HGTV’s “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.”
Set in the 1920s, “Chicago” is a scathing satire of how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals. It has Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, skimpy outfits and killer songs such as “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango.”
“Chicago” tells the story of Roxie, a housewife and dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to leave her. To avoid conviction, Roxie hires Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to help her dupe the public, media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by creating shocking headlines.
The celebrity-craving heroine at the heart of “Chicago” has been played by dozens of women since the show opened in 1996, including Pam Anderson, Melanie Griffith, Christie Brinkley, Marilu Henner, Brooke Shields, Lisa Rinna, Gretchen Mol, Ashlee Simpson, Brandy Norwood, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Givens.