Pamela Anderson is making her Broadway debut. The actress will join the cast of “Chicago” as leading lady Roxie Hart from April 12 to June 5 at the Ambassador Theatre.
“From ‘Baywatch’ to Broadway. I am inspired by the unexpected,” Anderson told The Associated Press. “This is it, and I will not hold back anymore. I am letting go. I am ready to see what I’m capable of. For ‘Chicago,’ I’ll be putting all my cards on the table. I am doubling down — on me.”
Anderson will take over for Ana Villafañe, who has played the role of Roxie since September. Set in the 1920s, “Chicago” is a satirical musical about how show business makes celebrities out of criminals. At the center of the story is 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, Roxie dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer Billy Flynn to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines.
Anderson joins a list of household names who have previously played Roxie, including Melanie Griffith, Christie Brinkley, Brooke Shields, Lisa Rinna, Ashlee Simpson and Jennifer Nettles.
Anderson is perhaps best known for playing C.J. Parker on “Baywatch.” Her other credits include “Home Improvement,” Barb Wire” and “Superhero Movie.”
The former Playboy model is also the subject of the recent Hulu show “Pam & Tommy,” starring Lily James as Anderson and Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee. The show, which Anderson was not involved in, tells the story of their infamous honeymoon sex tape.
Anderson has since revealed that she is producing her own documentary about her life and career that will be released on Netflix, promising to tell “the real story.” According to the streamer, the documentary will be “an intimate portrait embedded in the life of Pamela Anderson as she looks back at her professional and personal path and prepares for the next steps on her journey.”