AS “VELMA KELLY” MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2025 – SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2026

NOW CELEBRATING 29 YEARS ON BROADWAY 

Robyn Hurder as Velma Kelly. Photo courtesy of Chicago, The Musical.

NEW YORK—Broadway’s record-breaking hit musical Chicago has just announced that Tony Award nominee Robyn Hurder (Smash, A Beautiful Noise, Moulin Rouge! The Musical) will return to the cell block as “Velma Kelly” beginning Monday, December 15, 2025 through Sunday, January 11, 2026 at the Ambassador Theatre (219 W. 49th St., NYC). Chicago is Broadway’s longest-running American musical in Broadway history. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.ChicagoTheMusical.com.

Robyn Hurder’s Broadway & regional credits

Robyn Hurder: Broadway: Smash (Ivy Lynn) *Drama League Nom, Chita Award, Moulin Rouge, The Musical (Nini) *Tony Nominee, Chita Award Nominee, A Beautiful Noise (Marcia Murphey) *Drama Desk Nominee, Chita Award, Nice Work If You Can Get It (Jeannie Muldoon), Grease (Marty) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Violet). NYCC/ Encores: 75th Anniversary Gala Production of A Chorus Line (Cassie), The New Yorkers (Lola McGee), Paint Your Wagon (Cherry Jourdell). National Tours:  A Chorus Line (Cassie), Starlight Express (Pearl). Selected Regional: Ogunquit Playhouse: High Society (Tracy Lord), 5th Avenue Theatre: Kiss Me Kate (Lois/Bianca) Drury Lane: Crazy For You (Polly Baker), Shakespeare Theatre Company: Kiss Me Kate (Lois/Bianca) *Helen Hayes Award, Film/TV: “The Equalizer” (CBS), “Fosse/Verdon” (FX) Management: The Rosenzweig Group.

About Chicago 

With a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is now the #1 longest-running American musical in Broadway history.

The current cast of Chicago features Kate Baldwin as Roxie Hart, Sophie Carmen-Jones as Velma Kelly, Tam Mutu as Billy Flynn, Alex Newell as Matron “Mama” Morton, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine. The cast also includes Zach Bravo, David Bushman, Max Clayton, Jennifer Dunne, Jessica Ernest, Arian Keddell, James T. Lane, Marty Lawson, Joseph London, Barrett Martin, Sharon Moore, Drew Nellessen, Celina Nightengale, Kristen Faith Oei, Denny Paschall, Mikayla Renfrow, Sean Samuels, Samantha Sturm.

Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.

Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking, Chicago features set design by Tony Award winner John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington, sound design by Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer, casting by ARC/Duncan Stewart, CSA & Patrick Maravilla, CSA and Executive Producer Alecia Parker.

The classic story of Chicago

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.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Mondays at 7pm, Tuesdays at 7pm, Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2:30pm & 8pm, Sundays at 2pm & 7pm.

Added Holiday performances Wed 11/26 @ 7pm, Friday 11/28 @ 2:30pm, Tues 12/30 @ 2pm, Friday 01/02 @ 2:30pm.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are available in person at the Ambassador Theatre (219 W 49^th St). Box office hours are Monday through Saturday 10am-8:30pm, Sunday 12pm-7:30pm. Tickets are also available at ChicagoTheMusical.com.

www.ChicagoTheMusical.com

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‘SMASH’: Robyn Hurder (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

SMASH
Book by Bob Martin & Rick Elice
Based on the NBC TV series by Theresa Rebeck
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman
Choreography by Joshua Bergasse
Directed by Susan Stroman
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45^th Street
https://smashbroadway.com/

By Scott Harrah

The NBC TV series “Smash” aired for two seasons in 2012 and 2013. Now, the Tony Award-winning team of book writers Bob Martin and Rick Elice, composer Marc Shaiman, lyricist Scott Wittman and director Susan Stroman have adapted the TV series into a splashy, fun, flawed yet sublime Broadway musical, Smash.

The show focuses on the story of a make-believe Marilyn Monroe musical called Bombshell: The Marilyn Monroe Story and the colorful characters all working behind the scenes to get the production off the ground. The fictional Marilyn is established star Ivy Lynn (Robyn Hurder), a gorgeous blonde who looks the part and is so into her character that she hires a “Method”-style acting coach, Susan Proctor (Kristine Nielsen), to help her become Marilyn.

Backstage intrigue

The narrative centers on backstage intrigue at a Broadway musical, with everyone doing anything to shine in the show, with more than one actress coveting the lead role of Marilyn. Ivy hires Susan after the husband-and-wife duo Jerry (John Behlmann) and Tracy (Krysta Rodriguez) give the actress a book by the Method coach. Meanwhile, understudy Karen (Caroline Bowman) is talented indeed but considered too inexperienced to play Marilyn. Ivy and Karen become instant rivals, adding tension.

Bombshell is helmed by veteran director Nigel (Brooks Ashmanskas), with the help of associate director Chloe (Bella Coppola). Chloe is a plus-sized woman who has also memorized all of Ivy’s lines. Everyone involved in the musical must answer to the producer Anita (Jacqueline B. Arnold), a no-nonsense woman who makes sure the show adheres to the guidelines and theme her investors expect.

Insider humor

The story includes all the issues involved with mounting a Broadway musical, from managing talent and budgets to “creative differences” and coping with egos. This is all a nice recipe for a “show-within-a-show.” Does everything work? Not always, but anyone interested in theater will find plenty of insider humor to savor. Joshua Bergasse’s energetic choreography and Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman’s songs keep everything moving along at a fun, vibrant pace. Fans of the TV series might recognize some of the numbers from the NBC show, including “The 20^th Century Fox Mambo” and “Let Me Be Your Star.”

Shows-within-a-show are nothing new in theater. Shakespeare used this technique in Hamlet (when actors performed for the court), Agatha Christie used it in The Mousetrap (still playing on the West End in London) and so did the recent British comedy The Play That Goes Wrong and the 1982 farce Noises Off.  The French call the concept mise en abyme, or “placed into abyss,” and in English it’s often called “metadrama.”

A hit for director Susan Stroman?

It has been a while since renowned Tony Award-winning director Susan Stroman scored a bona fide hit, but she might just have one here with Smash. Although far from being a perfect musical, the show has so much going for it, including an accomplished cast, many of whom have been working on Broadway for decades.

Fine cast

Robyn Hurder is delightfully imperious as the self-centered Ivy who makes everyone’s life hell in the production with her diva-like behavior. Caroline Bowman is equally top notch as Ivy’s rival and understudy, Karen. Ms. Bowman is exquisite, particularly in her show-stopping number “They Just Keep Moving the Line.”

Longtime Broadway vet Brooks Ashmanskas is always outstanding in any show. However, as the middle-aged, self-deprecating gay director Nigel, Mr. Ashmanskas gives one of his finest performances yet. He has never been funnier, from his quick-witted delivery of dialogue to his dynamic stage presence. He never fails to mine the material for laughs.

Supporting cast members shine

Nearly all of the supporting-cast performances are noteworthy as well. Krysta Rodriguez and John Behlmann are both hilarious as the often-arguing, married book and songwriting duo Tracy and Jerry. Two-time Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen is almost unrecognizable as the black-clad Method coach Susan Proctor. Ms. Nielsen’s Susan is a camp delight. She plays the character (or should I say caricature?) as a pretentious theatrical sorceress, charging big bucks to coach Ivy in the acting “method” used by Konstantin Stanislavsky and Lee Strasberg.

Bella Coppola gives one of the musical’s most magnificent performances as Chloe. Watching her transform herself from a frumpy associate director to a solid replacement for the glamorous Marilyn role is one of the show’s highlights.

This may not be the stage adaptation some fans of the old TV series were expecting, but as a musical comedy loaded with wit and nonstop silliness, Smash is simply splendid.

Published April 12, 2025
Reviewed at press preview performance on April 8, 2025

‘SMASH’: (left to right) Megan Kane, Brooks Ashmanskas, Robyn Hurder, Kristine Nielsen, Krysta Rodriguez & John Behlmann. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: (left to right) John Behlmann, Krysta Rodriguez, Jacqueline B. Arnold, Brooks Ashmanskas, Robyn Hurder, Caroline Bowman, Bella Coppola, and Nicholas Matos. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Robyn Hurder & Brooks Ashmanskas. Photo: Paul Kolnik.

‘SMASH’: Bella Coppola. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Krysta Rodriguez & John Behlmann. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Caroline Bowman & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘SMASH’: Robyn Hurder & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘Smash’: Show-within-a-show is sublime appeared first on StageZine.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE
Book by Anthony McCarten
Music & lyrics by Neil Diamond
Directed by Michael Mayer
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200
https://abeautifulnoisethemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

A Beautiful Noise is not exactly a Neil Diamond tribute concert or a solid jukebox musical such as MJ, Tina and Jersey Boys—all these shows had great stories to tell and also showcased the music of the artist portrayed. Instead, this show is akin to attending a Neil Diamond psychotherapy session, hearing him complaining to his therapist about his malaise and unhappiness in his old age. This therapy session takes place throughout the musical. For a man who is a world-renowned musical artist, had endless hit songs, fame and adulation, sold-out arenas, became quite wealthy, married three times and has multiple children, the show mostly focuses on the adage that fame and riches do not buy you happiness.

Neil Diamond is an American icon. He has sold more than 130 million records and had 10 #1 hits in the USA alone. Anyone who grew up in the 1970s and early 1980s knows his music was consistently played on the radio. Some say he has sold more records than Elvis. In addition, he got his break writing songs for other people, most notably “I’m a Believer” for the Monkees.

Despite the fact that all his hits are here—“America,” “Cherry, Cherry,” “Cracklin’ Rose,” “Solitary Man” and, of course “Sweet Caroline,” and tons more—there is no arc to the storyline. Neil Diamond was a multi-talented mega star who was essentially a nice Jewish boy from Flatbush, Brooklyn who made it big. Based on this show, he didn’t have any struggles with drugs or alcohol but he suffered from loneliness and had rocky marriages. A Beautiful Noise opens with a therapy session of older  Neil (Marc Jacoby) recalling his youth and start in show business through his songbook, while confessing everything to his understanding therapist (Linda Powell). Other than his three marriages, there is no insight into the man. It doesn’t leave much room for a buoyant musical. Fortunately, Will Swenson brings young rock star Neil Diamond to vivid life and gives a vibrant interpretation of Mr. Diamond in the late 1960s up to the early ’80s. When Mr. Swenson is onstage, sporting tight clothing and singing Diamond classics like “A Solitary Man” and “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” complete with dancing chorus members, the show is lively and almost campy and will thrill Neil Diamond fans. Unfortunately, there are not enough production numbers of Diamond’s golden oldies, and many of the songs they do perform aren’t always his best.  The narrative of older Neil talking to his therapist about his past really makes the story drag most of the time.

Michael Mayer’s direction is unfocused, and Anthony McCarten’s book has a paper-thin narrative thread. Steven Hoggett’s choreography is frenetic and energetic at times, but not that original. Some of the performances are noteworthy. Bri Suda does a nice job playing Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich (the woman who gave Mr. Diamond his first break), and she doubles in the role of Neil’s mother, Rose. Mark Jacoby is emotional in the right places as older Neil. The biggest redemption to the show and its greatest asset is Will Swenson as the young Neil Diamond, singing each song in a rough, mellifluous, velvety voice without trying to mimic the star. He brings the charisma, looks, energy and the sound needed to anchor and breathe life into this otherwise inert musical. A good jukebox musical about a legend often weaves cherished classic songs into a strong story that actually gives insight and perspective while showcasing the artist’s material. A Beautiful Noise fails to do much justice to the star as it never quite captures the pop-star magic of Neil Diamond in his heyday or reveals anything remarkable about such a legendary, gifted entertainer.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 21, 2023
Reviewed at January 19, 2023 press performance.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: (left to right) Will Swenson, Mark Jacoby & Linda Powell. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Robyn Hurder & Will Swenson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Marc Jacoby. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’ (left to right): Michael McCormick, Tom Alan Robbins, Linda Powell, Marc Jacoby & Will Swenson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Will Swenson & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘A BEAUTIFUL NOISE’: Robyn Hurder & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

The post ‘A Beautiful Noise’: Neil Diamond’s jukebox jam appeared first on StageZine.