British pop star Melanie Brown is heading to jail to star in hit Broadway musical Chicago.
The former Spice Girls star will be spending New Year’s Eve in New York as she tackles the role of convicted killer Roxie Hart for a limited eight-week run from December 28. She will entertain audiences at the Ambassador Theatre until February 19.
Brown, also known as Scary Spice, follows in the footsteps of previous leads Marilu Henner, Ashlee Simpson, Christie Brinkley, Brandy Norwood, and Rumer Willis, who have all portrayed Roxie, a nightclub dancer who murders her lover after he threatens to dump her, onstage.
Disney Channel’s Veronica Dunne currently occupies the role on Broadway, but she will exit the show after November 27. The production also features Lana Gordon as Velma Kelly, Jason Danieley as Billy Flynn, and NaTasha Yvette Williams as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton, among others.
The new gig marks Mel B’s return to the Broadway stage 12 years after making her debut in the original production of Rent, back in April 2004, when she took on the part of Mimi.
Mel B has a busy 2017 lined up – she will be hitting the road with former Spice Girls bandmates Geri Horner and Emma Bunton, who regrouped as GEM earlier this year after a plan to reunite the full girl power group for a 20th-anniversary celebration fell flat.
Horner recently announced she is pregnant, giving Brown the time she needed to complete a turn in Chicago before the GEM gigs next summer.
