Pamela Anderson to star in Chicago on Broadway

The long-running Broadway musical 'Chicago '' has announced that it will be welcoming actor and activist Pamela Anderson to the cast for a limited eight-week run as Roxie Hart this spring. Marking her Broadway debut, Anderson will perform the role from 12 April to 5 June at the Ambassador Theatre.

"I have always been a huge fan of Bob Fosse's and Gwen Verdon's work. Ann Reinking, too," said Anderson in a statement. "Playing Roxie Hart is a dream fulfilled. Performing Fosse, you don't have time to get in your head. You can't dance, sing, and think at the same time. There is a freedom, a unique joy in knowing it's all about the work. Playing Roxie Hart is a sweet escape for me."

Anderson is best known as CJ from the hit '90s television series Baywatch. She has also been seen as Lisa, the Tool Time Girl on ABC's Home Improvement, and as Val on the TV series V.I.P., which she executive produced. She was photographed for the cover of Playboy magazine a record 14 times in the United States, while appearing on Playboy's international covers over 100 times worldwide.

Anderson founded the Pamela Anderson Foundation in 2014, advocating for human, animal, and environmental rights, and also lends her advocacy to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and serves as a board member and Honorary Director of PETA.

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.

With a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Ebb, Chicago is now the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.

Chicago is also touring the UK, with a cast including Russell Watson and Sheila Ferguson.