Casting has been announced for the 2027 UK and Ireland tour of Chicago, with Strictly Come Dancing professional Lauren Oakley set to make her musical theatre debut as Roxie Hart.
The new tour opens at New Wimbledon Theatre on 5 February 2027 and will travel across the UK and Ireland through to November, with further dates still to be announced.
Joining Oakley is two-time Olivier Award nominee Adam Garcia as smooth-talking lawyer Billy Flynn. Mica Paris and Sam Bailey will share the role of Mama Morton at selected venues throughout the tour.
The principal cast also includes Charlotte Gooch as Velma Kelly, Jonathan Dryden Taylor as Amos Hart and R. Leonard, making their professional debut, as Mary Sunshine.
Lauren Oakley is best known to audiences as a professional dancer on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. Her stage credits include Strictly Come Dancing Live!, Burn the Floor, and tours with Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice.
Adam Garcia recently appeared as Frank Farmer in The Bodyguard and has previously earned Olivier Award nominations for Saturday Night Fever and Kiss Me, Kate. His theatre credits also include Wicked, 42nd Street and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Mica Paris returns to a role she has previously played, having starred as Mama Morton in earlier productions of Chicago. The acclaimed singer and broadcaster’s theatre credits also include Fame: The Musical, Sweet Lorraine and Love Me Tender.
Sam Bailey, winner of The X Factor in 2013, has appeared in productions including Beauty and the Beast, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Fat Friends the Musical and NOW… That’s What I Call A Musical.
Set in the Jazz Age of the 1920s, Chicago follows aspiring performer Roxie Hart as she manipulates the media and the legal system after murdering her lover. Featuring a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, the musical includes iconic songs such as “All That Jazz”, “Cell Block Tango” and “Razzle Dazzle”.
Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Chicago has become one of the most successful musicals of all time. The 1996 Broadway revival, produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, remains the longest-running American musical in Broadway and West End history.
The 2027 tour will visit venues including Cardiff, Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin, Birmingham, Norwich, Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh and many more across the UK and Ireland.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
