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Spandau’s Hadley Makes Debut as Chicago’s BillyDate: 5 January 2007
Spandau Ballet’s former lead singer Tony Hadley (pictured) will make his stage acting debut playing superslick lawyer Billy Flynn in the West End production of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago. Hadley will have a limited eight-week season at the Cambridge Theatre from 29 January to 24 March 2007.
Hadley’s career as a recording artist has spanned 25 years. With fellow band members Gary and Martin Kemp in Spandau Ballet, Hadley had hits such as “True” and “Gold”. Since the New Romantics pop group split in 1989, Hadley’s solo releases have included “Build Me Up” and “She” and the albums Obsession and Passing Strangers. In 2003, he won the ITV reality series Reborn in the USA.
Chicago currently stars two other reality TV contestants: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? finalist Aoife Mulholland, aka ‘Irish Maria’, who has extended her contract as Roxie Hart until 27 January, and The X Factor’s Brenda Edwards, who remains as Mama Morton. The cast also features Annette McLaughlin (as fellow murderess Velma Kelly) and Julian Sims (Amos Hart). Hadley takes over from Ian Kelsey as Billy Flynn.
The current production of Chicago celebrated its ninth West End anniversary on 18 November 2006. It opened at the Cambridge Theatre (where the musicals’ original London production ran for 603 performances from April 1979) on 28 April 2006, after a eight-and-a-half years at the Adelphi Theatre. It won the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production as well as the 1998 Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical.
Kander and Ebb’s 1975 musical is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins and has a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The current stage revival, which transferred from Broadway, is directed by Walter Bobbie and designed by John Lee Beatty, with choreography by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse.
- by Terri Paddock
