Gingold Theatrical Group (David Staller, Artistic Director; Isaiah Josiah, Managing Producer) announced casting for Maurine Watkins’ CHICAGO, continuing their spring Project Shaw series.

Featuring Tony Award© winner Nikki M. James (Little Shop of Horrors, Suffs) as Roxy Hart, Reg Rogers (Little Shop of Horrors) as Billy Flynn, Katerina McCrimmon (Bigfoot!, Funny Girl) as Velma Kelly, Arnie Burton (The Baker’s Wife, The Imaginary Invalid) as Jake, David Ryan Smith (The Seat of Our Pants) as Amos Hart, Tony Award© winner Randy Graff (Pen Pals, Mr. Saturday Night) as Mary Sunshine, Jackie Hoffman (My First Ex-Husband, Life and Trust) as Mrs. Morton, Richard B. Watson as The Sargeant Charles E. Murdock, Daniel Jenkins (About Time) as Mrtin S. Harrison, Troy Iwata (Be More Chill) as Babe, and Erin Maquire as Go-To-Hell Kitty.

The event will be directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

The reading is set for May 18 at 7 PM at The Players Club (16 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003). Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/maurine-watkins-chicago-tickets-1982698983031.

“Like so many of us, I became aware of this story through the musical,” says Gingold Artistic Director David Staller. “Finding the original source material became a personal quest after Gwen Verdon confessed to me that both she and Bob Fosse had, when kids, seen the 1942 film, Roxie Hart, and each individually resolved to make it into a musical! This 1926 play is actually far more overtly political, sardonic, and sexual than the musical adaptation! Don’t miss it!”

Chicago (1926) is a satirical comedy inspired by real-life murder cases covered by journalist Maurine Dallas Watkins. The play follows two women accused of murder as they navigate both the legal system and the court of public opinion. A searing critique of media sensationalism, celebrity culture, and justice, the work remains strikingly relevant today.

Best known as the basis for the long-running Broadway musical Chicago, the story has inspired multiple adaptations, including the 1927 silent film, the 1942 film Roxie Hart, and the Academy Award®-winning 2002 film Chicago.

This event features general seating. For reserved seats or season discounts, please contact the Gingold office: 212.355.7823 info@gingoldgroup.org.

ABOUT GINGOLD THEATRICAL GROUP

Gingold Theatrical Group, now in its 21st year, creates theater that supports human rights, freedom of speech, and individual liberty using the work of George Bernard Shaw as our guide. Through full productions, staged readings, new play development, and educational programs, GTG brings Shaw’s humanist ideals to inspire peaceful discussion and activism. GTG’s past productions include Man and Superman (2012), You Never Can Tell(2013), Major Barbara (2014), Widowers’ Houses (2016), Heartbreak House (2018), Caesar & Cleopatra (2019), Candida (2022), Arms and the Man (2023), The Devil’s Disciple (2024), and Pygmalion (2025)

Founded in 2006 by David Staller, GTG has carved a permanent niche for the work of George Bernard Shaw within the social and cultural life of New York City, and, through the Project Shaw reading series, made history in 2009 as the first company ever to present performances of every one of Shaw’s 65 plays (including full-length works, one-acts and sketches). GTG brings together performers, critics, students, academics and the general public with the opportunity to explore and perform theatrical work inspired by the humanitarian and activist values that Shaw championed. All comedies, these plays boldly exhibit the insight, wit, passion and all-encompassing socio-political focus that distinguished Shaw as one of the most inventive and incisive writers of all time.

Major support for GTG is provided by The Buchwald Family Foundation, City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, The Helen M. DeMario Foundation, Golden Globe Foundation, Herman Goldman Foundation, Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme, Marta Heflin Foundation, Michael Tuch Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor & New York State Legislature, Shubert Foundation, Pamela Singleton, and The National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT THE PLAYERS

Founded in 1888 by legendary actor Edwin Booth, The Players Club has long been a historic hub for New York City’s theatrical and artistic community. Located at 16 Gramercy Park South, the club has hosted generations of performances, readings, and cultural gatherings in its elegant spaces. Gingold Theatrical Group’s signature program, Project Shaw, began at The Players in 2006, and we are thrilled to mark its auspicious return in 2025 in honor of the program’s 20th anniversary, celebrating two decades of presenting thought-provoking theater inspired by the works of George Bernard Shaw.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:

www.gingoldgroup.org

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