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NEW YORK (AP) - Bebe Neuwirth is going back to a familiar place on Broadway, but she's making a little razzle-dazzle history along the way.
Producers said Tuesday the Emmy- and Tony-winning former star of TV's "Cheers" will return to the Ambassador Theatre stage in "Chicago" but this time to play Matron "Mama" Morton. She starts Jan. 14 and ends her eight-week run on March 9.
Neuwirth won the Tony Award in 1997 for her portrayal of jazz-age killer Velma Kelly in the show and then returned 10 years later as merry murderess Roxie Hart. When she sinks her teeth into Morton, Neuwirth will have made history as the first actress to play all three female principal parts.
Set in the 1920s, the musical is a scathing satire of how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals. It has Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, skimpy outfits and killer songs such as "All That Jazz" and "Cell Block Tango."
Neuwirth's other Broadway credits include "The Addams Family," "Fosse," "A Chorus Line," "Sweet Charity" and "Damn Yankees." She also played Dr. Lilith Sternin in "Cheers" and "Frasier."
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