Denise Van Outen has been forced to withdraw from her eagerly-anticipated run in the role of Velma Kelly in the hit revival of Chicago at London’s Phoenix Theatre due to injury.
The actress and television presenter who previously won rave reviews for her performance as Roxie Hart in the West End and Broadway productions of the show was due to return to Cook County Jail as Kelly from Monday 24 September until Saturday 17 November.
A stress fracture in Van Outen’s heel was discovered on the day she was due to start rehearsals for the show, forcing her to postpone her debut as Velma Kelly. Van Outen’s replacement in the role will be announced shortly.
Last seen in Chicago in the West End in 2002, Van Outen’s stage credits also include Tell Me On a Sunday, Legally Blonde, Rent, and her well-received one-woman show Some Girl I Used To Know.
Van Outen was due to join Alexandra Burke who stepped into the role of Roxie Hart last month, Mazz Murray (Mama Morton), Paul Rider (Amos Hart) and Duncan James (Billy Flynn).
Following on from a successful UK and international tour and after a five and half year absence from London, the new production which is based on the 1996 Broadway revival directed by Walter Bobbie with choreography by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse, is currently booking until Saturday 5 January 2019.
Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Chicago has a book by Fred Ebb and Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The musical opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 18 November 1997 and ran for 15 highly successful years in the West End.
The production claimed the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production and the 1998 Critics Circle Drama Award for Best Musical. Chicago is currently playing in New York where it celebrated its 21st birthday in 2017. The show is now the world’s longest-running American musical.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for the West End production of Chicago are available HERE.
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