Brandy playing Roxie Hart (Chicago)starting April 4th in D.C.

Started by dntunvme2, February 23, 2017, 02:23:46 PM

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dntunvme2

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/02/23/brandy-norwood-will-step-into-d-c-chicago-as-roxie/?utm_term=.91939502b7d1


?Chicago? has been on the boards for 20 years now, but the vampy John Kander-Fred Ebb musical is not only making its Kennedy Center debut for two weeks starting April 4 ? it?s also adding pop to the marquee with R&B star Brandy Norwood joining the cast as Roxie Hart, the center announced Thursday.

?The show completely changed my life,? Norwood said by phone from Los Angeles. (Her sidekick in Washington will be Terra C. MacLeod, who has frequently taken the stand on Broadway as Velma Kelly.)

Norwood, 38, has enjoyed star status since she was TV?s teen ?Moesha? and the title character in the 1997 television version of Rodgers and Hammerstein?s ?Cinderella? with Whitney Houston. Her theatrical stage debut finally came in 2015 when she took on the Broadway ?Chicago? as Roxie for a run that lasted several months. She later reprised her turn in Los Angeles.

Brandy, a star at 17

Her eclectic entertainment career has spanned everything from selling millions of records to scripted series and TV competitions, including a stint with her brother Ray J in the current season of the Fox TV cooking show ?My Kitchen Rules.? But as Norwood talks about venturing into ?the real show business,? she sounds more like a Broadway baby than you might think.

How did you get started with ?Chicago??

One day I woke up and felt tired of being tired, and I decided to get my life together: going to the gym, changing my inner dialogue to myself, affirming I was getting ready for something big. Then ?Chicago? presented itself. I was nervous. I had never done Broadway before, and I didn?t know the discipline it would take to do eight shows a week. But I was surprisingly equipped for it, and it changed me for the better. It was learning how to trust the moment and trust the work I put into it. I plan to take this with me wherever I go.

You?re not joining the ongoing tour; you?re just in for this D.C. stop.

I?m good friends with the producers, and I made it clear I would love to do Roxie as long as they would have me, for the rest of my career, here and there. I would love for as many people as possible to see me in that role. I?ve already started inviting a lot of people to come.

Had you seen ?Chicago? before?

I saw it when Usher did it. [Usher played lawyer Billy Flynn on Broadway in 2006.] That was the first time I got the itch. You have to be very brave to do Broadway or a musical. That?s the real show business. You don?t have a lot of tricks. You have to really trust it and bring your best foot forward every night.

Why did Roxie seem like a good fit?

We were in the same place at the same time with our dreams. We were both visualizing what our life could be if this, that and the third thing happened. We were doing some sort of eclipse with each other ? even though she did shoot somebody. I didn?t do all that. But having my own show, what she was singing about, I was doing in my own life.

Did you have to make adjustments getting into the Broadway routine?

The show was all I really focused on, to keep my voice up. I had to pick and choose where to talk, and how to talk to my daughter, sleep a lot. Sleep really brings the clarity in your voice. And just 100 percent give yourself to the moment. You can?t think ahead. All the work ahead would have scared the crap of me if I thought about it while I was singing up on the ladder.

Watch the video of Brandy?s ?Beggin? and Pleadin? ?

Your video for ?Beggin? and Pleadin? ? is influenced by the blues singer Shug Avery in ?The Color Purple,? and it also feels a bit like ?Chicago.? Is the Broadway take on jazz and blues a new influence for you?

That?s definitely a new influence for me. [She sings] ?All that jazz?? Like I said, the musical changed my life, made me feel capable. It influenced me in various ways as a musician; I want to add theater to everything I do. There?s nothing like it. It?s not just about you. It?s about making everyone look good. Everything now is about competition, but theater is more about the story than about the person playing the part.



RatherBe

'Grats Bran!!!!















:ummwhat: can Roxie fucking die already? I want Brandy damn Norwood the singer.




FlowerBomb


Buy The Stars✨



The Brandy Barbie

February 23, 2017, 02:47:56 PM #7 Last Edit: February 23, 2017, 02:50:00 PM by The Brandy Barbie
I want Brandy to keep doing things like this.  I hope she starts doing other broadway shows and movies, too.  Why y'all want her stuck in a music studio all her days is beyond me.  She's still not gonna put our music any sooner.

Buy The Stars✨

Quote from: The Brandy Barbie on February 23, 2017, 02:47:56 PM
I want Brandy to keep doing things like this.  I hope she starts doing other broadway shows and movies, too.  Why y'all want her stuck in a music studio all her days is beyond me.  She's still not gonna put our music any sooner.

Nothing  wrong with doing things like this but she needs to focus more on music or do some movies or tv shows  something to get herself in the public eye and not my kitchen rules.


dntunvme2

She's smart. This will expose her to a different audience. And being that it's D.C. they'll be a lot of important people there. So I'm not mad. Plus it's only for 2 weeks.

Vonc2002

This is my pass to say WHATEVER tf I wanna say about the mess she releases so I don't wanna hear SHIT! Baby mama is a mess of a song btw





Young

I love that she said she'll do it forever here and there.

It helped her a lot and became a huge part of her life , so why not. Love it.

I want to see her in Chicago

Angel In Disguise

Can't wait. I will be there!  Saw it twice in NYC and I bought a ticket for her Hollywood show, but I had to give it away.


Kurama

I actually wouldn't mind if she hit the major cities again.