Video: From K-Pop to the Cell Block: Ivy Opens Up About Making Her Broadway Debut

K-pop star Ivy is trading Seoul for the Great White Way! The Korean singer and musical theatre star is making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago, playing a limited engagement at the Ambassador Theatre from August 17 through September 6.

For Ivy, the milestone still doesn’t quite feel real—especially after spending just a year studying English in preparation.

“I still can’t believe it’s real because I have been studying English just a year,” she told BroadwayWorld’s Richard Ridge. “When I’m speaking in English, I’m so nervous and sweating. Oh my gosh! … I can’t believe how I got this opportunity, but I’m so happy to be here.”

Though Broadway is new territory, Roxie certainly isn’t. Ivy has previously played the merry murderess in Korea, making her Broadway bow in a role that already holds a particularly special place in her heart.

“Roxie Hart is my life,” she said, adding that the iconic Chicago character is a role that “many actresses dream of.”

Ivy’s musical theatre journey began in 2010, when she made her stage debut as Bianca in Kiss Me, Kate. The experience quickly changed the course of her career. “I realized, ‘Oh, this is my new job,’” she recalled. “Oh my God—mind-blowing.”

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