CNN
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“Chicago” is Broadway’s longest-running revival – and even after more than 25 years, the production continues to make history.
Next month, the starring role of fame-hungry murderer Roxie Hart will be played by Angelica Ross, the production announced Thursday. Ross will be the first transgender actress to don Roxie’s T-strap shoes on Broadway, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and one of the first trans women to play a leading role on Broadway.
Ross is best known for her role as Candy Ferocity, a young trans woman who regularly performed on the New York ballroom scene, in the Emmy-winning series “Pose.” The FX drama featured the largest cast of trans actors in a TV series, media reported ahead of its 2018 premiere.
With her cast, Ross joins a small but formidable group of black trans women who have bowed on Broadway: In 2018, Peppermint of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame starred in Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels.” , and this season, L Morgan Lee earned a Tony Award nomination for his role in Best Musical winner “A Strange Loop.” The upcoming “1776” revival will also feature trans and non-binary actors.
CNN has reached out to “Chicago” and representatives for Ross for further comment. The “Pose” star begins performances Sept. 12, production said.
Ross is the latest star to play Roxie on Broadway: earlier this year, actress and animal advocate Pamela Anderson made her Broadway debut in the role.