Angelica Ross will be the first trans lead in ‘Chicago’ on Broadway

By Scottie Andrew, CNN

“Chicago” is Broadway’s longest-running revival — and even after more than 25 years, the production is still making history.

Next month, the leading role of fame-hungry murderess Roxie Hart will be played by Angelica Ross, the production announced Thursday. Ross will be the first out transgender actress to step into 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 competed in New York’s ballroom scene, on the Emmy-winning series “Pose.” The FX drama featured the largest cast of trans actors on a TV series, outlets reported ahead of its 2018 premiere.

With her casting, Ross joins a small but formidable group of Black trans women who’ve bowed on Broadway: In 2018, Peppermint of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame starred in the Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels,” and this season, L Morgan Lee earned a Tony nomination for her role in best musical winner “A Strange Loop.” The upcoming revival of “1776” will also include trans and nonbinary cast members.

CNN has reached out to “Chicago” and reps for Ross for further comment. The “Pose” star begins performances on September 12, the 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.

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