Bianca Marroquín Returns as Roxie Hart for Chicago’s 30 Years

By Grace Kim

Bianca Marroquín will return to the role of Roxie Hart on November 16, Broadway.com reported. The site describes the triple-threat performer as a Broadway royalty, as Chicago marks 30 years on Broadway this month with a one-night-only performance featuring original company members and celebrity guests.

Marroquín’s return comes with a substantial performance record behind it. Broadway.com credits her with more than 4,000 performances as Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly in the long-running production. That count spans two characters and thousands of shows, giving her November 16 return a different context from a first-time guest appearance.

A one-night opening for a 30-year run

Broadway.com said the anniversary begins with a special one-night-only performance featuring original company members and celebrity guests. The announcement did not name the celebrity guests or list every original member who will appear.

As announced, the celebration starts with a single performance rather than an extended anniversary program. The pairing also brings together two kinds of participation: original members bring continuity, while celebrity guests bring recognition. For Marroquín, whose own connection already exceeds 4,000 performances, that combination makes the opening less about novelty than accumulated involvement.

Broadway.com placed Marroquín’s “victory lap” at the Ambassador Theatre. Ahead of the victory lap, she visited the site’s studio to sing “Funny Honey.” The site described the number as her character’s “unconventional ode to matrimony.”

What changes for audiences on November 16?

For an audience member, the practical change is the return of a performer with more than 4,000 performances in Chicago. Marroquín will resume playing Roxie Hart on November 16, Broadway.com reported. The announcement links that dated engagement to the show’s 30th-anniversary month, without announcing a new production or permanent recasting.

The studio performance offers a sample of the musical. “Funny Honey” isolates a Roxie number, and Broadway.com’s recording shows Marroquín singing it rather than merely discussing it. That gives viewers a performance sample while the anniversary adds a gathering of original company members and celebrity guests, and Marroquín’s victory lap takes place at the Ambassador Theatre.

The test for the anniversary is how these forms of presence fit together: the original company’s accumulated history, celebrity guests and a performer with 4,000-plus shows behind her. November 16 turns that question into a dated event, because Marroquín will again take on Roxie Hart after a run in the show that Broadway.com measures in more than 4,000 performances.