Ryoko Yonekura is set to return to Chicago on Broadway

Yonekura reprises the role of Roxie Hart from July 1 to July 14, 2019 at Broadway's Ambassador Theatre.

The name on everybody's lips will be... Ryoko! Japanese star Ryoko Yonekura is set to return to the Broadway production of Kander & Ebb's Tony Award-winning musical Chicago for a third stint as Roxie Hart due to popular demand, reprising the role at the Ambassador Theatre for 16 performances only from July 1 to July 14, 2019. Following the Broadway engagement, Yonekura will join the US National Tour of Chicago before limited Japanese engagements in Osaka and Tokyo in August, 2019.

Ryoko Yonekura originated the role of Roxie Hart in the Japanese-language production of Chicago in 2008 and reprised the role in 2010. She previously made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in July 2012 and returned once more in July 2017. Her other theatre credits include the role of Scarlet O'Hara in the Japanese stage adaptation of Gone With The Wind, as well as playing Motoko Haraguchi in Kurokawa no Techo. Her screen credits include "The Negotiator," "Arisa Matsui," "Nasake no Onna", "Monster Parent" and the roles of Samantha in the Japanese version of "Bewitched" and Surgeon Michiko Daimon in the hit Japanese TV series "Doctor X."

The principal Broadway cast currently includes Charlotte d'Amboise (as Roxie Hart), Amra-Faye Wright (as Velma Kelly), Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. (as Billy Flynn until February 10), Raymond Bokhour (as Amos Hart), NaTasha Yvette Williams (as Matron 'Mama' Morton), and R. Lowe (Mary Sunshine).

Directed by Walter Bobbie, with choreography by Ann Reinking, Chicago features a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with a book by Bob Fosse & Fred Ebb.

Synopsis: "Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago's slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids."

The creative team features scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer.

The Broadway revival of Chicago began previews at the Ambassador Theatre on October 23, 1996, officially opening on November 14, 1996. The production went on to become the winner of six Tony Awards (including "Best Musical Revival") and the winner of the Grammy Award for "Best Musical Cast Recording," with the tuner featuring such showtune classics as "All That Jazz," "Razzle Dazzle," and "Mr. Cellophane," among others.

Chicago is produced on Broadway by Barry and Fran Weissler.

Chicago Tickets are available now for performances through to September 29, 2019.

^{(Photos by Junji Ishiguro)}