Jennifer Holliday Will Join Chicago on Broadway as Matron "Mama" Morton

Tony Award winner Jennifer Holliday will return to Broadway next month for an eight-week limited run as Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago. She will perform June 9-July 31 at the Ambassador Theatre, reprising the role she first took on in the summer of 2001.

Holliday is best known for her Tony-winning performance as Effie "Melody" White in the 1981 hit musical Dreamgirls. She was last seen on Broadway as Shug Avery in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple opposite Cynthia Erivo.

Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago's slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids.

With a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Ebb, Chicago is now in its 25th year and is the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. The production is directed by Tony winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony winner Ann Reinking.

The role of Matron "Mama" Morton is currently played by Tony nominee Brenda Braxton, opposite Pamela Anderson who takes on the role of Roxie Hart in her Broadway debut.