MANILA, Philippines - You have to hand it to Roz Ryan, the legendary Broadway veteran who holds a unique Broadway record having played more performances of the musical Chicago than any other leading actress in the show’s historic 18-year run, to speak her mind out honestly and as forthrightly as any actress of her caliber on today’s social media-driven concept of overnight celebrities versus actresses of her era who had to take a slow climb to the proverbial top of the ladder.
“Oh, it doesn’t make us happy,” she starts. “You want people to succeed but when they are thrust into a situation where we have hit the pavement of New York for years and we’ve earned these roles and then you come up with an 18-year-old American Idol that’s in a star dressing room? Let me tell you something, it’s annoying — some of them can do it, most of them can’t, and they don’t realize that they can’t do it because we make it look easy because we’ve done all the footwork to get there. So, they don’t realize just how difficult it is and how much it requires.”
The 18-year-old American Idol shall remain unnamed because this is not his/her story. This story is about Roz and the two leading ladies of Chicago, Bianca Marroquin and Terra MacLeod. This is their story because they star in the third longest-running Broadway musical in history, because they essay three of the most iconic roles on Broadway and, most importantly, because they have earned it.
This writer chatted with the three lovely stars one afternoon several weeks ago in a parlor on the second floor of the historic Saenger Theatre in New Orleans. I was paired with The STAR Lifestyle columnist Scott Garceau for the freewheeling interviews just before they were to start preparation for their performances that day. The previous night, the magical city of New Orleans welcomed them warmly with a rousing ovation for their spectacular and memorable performances in Chicago.
The subject of overnight celebrities came about because of the main theme of the musical. Chicago tells the story of two murderess vixens, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, who are trying to parlay their notoriety into fame with the help of a scheming prison warden named Mama Morton and a sleazy lawyer named Billy Flynn. The story is inspired by real events during the roaring ’20s in the city of Chicago but it remains as relevant (if not more) today as it was nearly a century ago.
Roz plays Mama Morton. Bianca plays Roxie. And the stunning actress Terra plays the iconic Velma. Between them, they have collectively portrayed their parts for more than 30 years on Broadway and in various national and international tours of the musical and have earned numerous awards and accolades for their wonderful performances.
But before they got to where they are now is a story unto itself. They had to work hard for their success unlike Velma and Kelly and the few lucky unnamed American idols.
“I won a talent show when I was 16. It was at Fox Theatre. It wasn’t an American Idol situation but it did begin my career,” Roz shared. “I still had to work at it. Nothing was given. I still had to audition. And when you have to audition and some kid can come in and just take over the star dressing room and you’re rocking around New York City auditioning with everybody else who has been there it is kind of disheartening.”
“One of the humbling things about New York is that you never get full of yourself because when the show is over, you go right back into the drawing board,” she added.
Having played Mama Morton for many years now, this writer had to ask Roz if she feels some ownership to the role already. “You are damn right!” she responded with a smile. “I’ve been there from the beginning on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre, all the different moves, all the different tours, so, yeah, I feel a certain ownership.”
Aside from her record-setting run on Chicago, Roz’s stellar career on Broadway includes a stint as the first and only woman to be cast as the Ghost of Christmas Present in the musical, A Christmas Carol. She is also the only black actress to be cast in the role of Mabel in the classic musical comedy, The Pajama Game. And in 1984, she closed Dreamgirls on Broadway portraying Effie White, the same role that later won an Oscar for Jennifer Hudson.
In contrast to Roz, Terra and Bianca have only been performing Velma and Roxie for just over a decade but they have already received countless accolades and gained legions of fans that their names have become somewhat synonymous to their roles already.
Terra originated Velma in the French productions of Chicago in Montreal and in Paris just after the hit movie adaptation by Rob Marshall came out. Bianca, meanwhile, marked her Broadway debut in 2002 as Roxie opposite legendary actor George Hamilton who played the part of Billy Flynn.
“The great thing about having longevity in a role is you really can make it your own,” Terra explained when asked if she also feels some ownership to her role already. “My Velma is my Velma and no one can touch that which, I think, is that’s how I make it my own. Do I have ownership on it? I try for me, in this line of work, to never assume anything is forever because it can be gone. There are a lot of very talented people out there and I just see it as a gift. I see it as this is your moment, this is a gift that you have, and Velma will be played for generations and generations but have I owned my performance? Absolutely! That is my Velma. And I honor that. I honor the fact that I’ve put the years, the time and dedication into it.”
And just as Terra matured as an actress, her take on Velma has also evolved with her. “Oh, she’s lighter now in spirit,” she remarked. “I think I see more of her humor less than the dark because the dark is there, you don’t have to pound it. You know it’s there. Now I see there’s layers to her. Why is she hard? Is she really hard or is she protective? I see a little bit more lightness to her perhaps that’s because I’ve lightened up and I think that’s the beauty of this role, it’s the evolution of the role.”
It was during Terra’s sixth year on Chicago when she discovered this new side to Velma and she attributes it to her own growth as a person. “In my own personal life, I was able to laugh things off a little bit more, I think that just happens as you get older. If you’re still holding on to things as you get older you’re in trouble. You have to let things go. Not everything is a big deal, you know.”
Yes, not everything is a big deal but Chicago is for Mexico-born stage superstar Bianca, who credits portraying the all-American Roxie on Broadway for all her success.
“It all started with Chicago,” she said with pride. “I originated Roxie in Mexico in 2001 and that’s what really put me on the map in my own country. I have done other works before but Roxie, being my first lead role, I started being recognized and getting awards and getting invited to do other shows. I never thought it couldn’t get any better and then I get the invitation to crossover from Mexico to Broadway.”
Bianca speaks in a hurried tone and it was endearing to hear her again when I playback my audio recording of our interview as I transcribe it for this story.
Asked to describe her decade-long experience portraying Roxie, the beautiful actress replied, “It’s a character that’s been with me for many years so I have had the privilege to explore her and to go on and off to, like, play her performance and then leave and go do another thing, another project, grow in my life, live my life, then come back to her more mature in every aspects — as an actress and as a human being.”
Bianca completed a successful year-long engagement headlining the Mexico City premiere of Disney’s Mary Poppins before returning to play Roxie on Broadway this year. She currently holds the honor as the first National Ambassador for Viva Broadway, a new audience development initiative created by the Broadway League of producers to help bridge the world of Broadway with Latino audiences around the country. She was also recently honored at the 15th Annual HOLA Awards.
“It’s funny that Chicago plays at the Ambassador Theatre — life is really funny!” she remarked, recalling the curious connection of her becoming a Viva Broadway ambassador and the name of the theater that Chicago was playing on. “I took the responsibility — I didn’t have to — I could have been selfish and said, ‘No, this is my success,’ but I said, ‘No, it’s not only a success of mine, it’s a success for my country and for all Hispanic people and I need to make a difference. I am here for a reason, I am going to take that role upon myself.’”
Roz, Bianca and Terra are in Manila now. Catch them on Chicago at its limited Manila engagement at The Theatre at Solaire, opening last night.