The cast for the new Australian 2023-24 touring production of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Chicago has been announced.

The pivotal roles of Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart will be played by well-known TV actor Zoë Ventoura (Packed To The Rafters; Home and Away) and musical theatre star Lucy Maunder, respectively. Maunder is currently playing the role of Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins and has performed in major productions including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fun Home, Matilda: The Musical, Beautiful and The Carole King Musical.

Anthony Warlow (The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Les Misérables) will play the charismatic criminal lawyer Billy Flynn, joining a small clique of Australians who have played the role. Terence Donovan was Australia’s first Billy Flynn, in the 1981 production starring Nancye Hayes and Geraldine Turner. Craig McLachlan, Tom Burlinson and Jason Donovan have played the role since.

“It has always been a bucket list show of mine,” Warlow tells Limelight. “I was fortunate to see that first Australian production at the Opera House with Nancye and Geraldine, and I then saw it again in New York in 1997. That was special to me because the guy playing Billy Flynn – James Naughton – was in...