Japanese-Language 'Chicago' to Debut in Tokyo, October

Barry and Fran Weissler are pleased to announce, in association with Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc. and Kyodo Tokyo Inc., that plans are underway for the first Japanese-language production of Kander and Ebb's Tony Award-winning Broadway musical phenomenon Chicago. The production is set to debut this October at the Akasaka ACT Theatre in Tokyo, followed by an engagement at the Umeda Art Theatre in Osaka in November.

The English-language U.S. touring production of Chicago was first presented in Japan in 1999. Throughout the past nine years, an English-language production has returned to tour Japan three times, making it one of the most popular American musicals to play the country in recent history.

The Japanese production will star Ryoko Yonekura as Roxie Hart, Yoka Wao as Velma Kelly and Ryuichi Kawamura as Billy Flynn. All three stars have celebrated stage and screen careers in Japan.

This Japanese-language production marks the next chapter in Chicago's ever-growing global presence. Previous international engagements include productions in Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Dubai, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan. Return engagements are slated for Denmark, Korea and South Africa in 2008, and Australia in 2009.

Chicago has also been performed internationally in Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Now celebrating its 11th consecutive year in New York, Chicago is currently the eighth longest-running production in Broadway history, as well as Broadway's longest-running musical revival.

"Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who maliciously 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," state press notes.

With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording. Last December, the London production celebrated its 10th year in the West End, where it continues to hold the record as the longest-running American musical in West End history. A new U.S. tour of Chicago is being planned for 2008.

Directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Ann Reinking, Chicago features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer. The production also features orchestrations by Ralph Burns, supervising music direction by Rob Fisher and music direction by Leslie Stifelman. Visit www.ChicagoTheMusical.com for more information

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