Mama Mia! Debra Monk to Join Cast of Chicago

Debra Monk will join the Broadway company of Chicago in the role of Mama Morton on September 6 for a four-month run, replacing Carol Woods, who will rejoin the show’s national tour.

Monk won a Tony Award for her performance in Lanford Wilson’s Redwood Curtain; she was also Tony-nominated for her work in Picnic and Steel Pier. Among her many other credits are the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Company, Thou Shalt Not, and Assasins. Monk also starred in and co-wrote the Off-Broadway shows Pump Boys and Dinettes and Oil City Symphony. In addition, she won an Obie Award for her performance in the Lincoln Center Theater The Time of the Cuckoo.

Her film and television work includes her Emmy Award-winning role of Katie Sipowicz on NYPD Blue and featured roles in the film versions of Reckless, Jeffrey, and Prelude to a Kiss. Monk will be seen as one of the little old ladies in the upcoming film version of The Producers.

In addition to Woods, the current cast of Chicago is headed by Charlotte D’Amboise as Roxie Hart, Luba Mason as Velma Kelly, and Christopher McDonald as Billy Flynn. As previously reported, Brooke Shields will take over as Roxie on September 9 and rock star Huey Lewis will assume the role of Billy on November 1.