Entertainment

Singer Brandy Enjoying Her Broadway Debut in ‘Chicago’

Published

11 years ago

May 8, 2015

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Brandy Norwood in the role of Roxie Hart during a performance of the musical “Chicago,” at the Ambassador Theatre in New York. Norwood will portray Hart through June 21. (Jeremy Daniel/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

MARK KENNEDY, AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Starring on Broadway in “Chicago” has turned into a fountain of youth for Brandy Norwood.

“I have more life in me than I’ve ever had in a very long time. I feel 15 again. I feel like a kid,” the Grammy-winner said last week. “We all have a kid in us. My kid is wide awake. Baby Brandy is up and ready to go.”

The singer of hits like “I Wanna Be Down” and “The Boy Is Mine” as well as the star of the ’90s sitcom “Moesha” started an 8-week stint in the sexy musical, which marks her professional stage debut.

Brandy plays Roxie Hart, a wannabe vaudevillian star who murders her lover and is arrested. It’s showing off the singer’s sensual, naughty side as she dances and sings in some very short outfits.

“I’m going to give it everything I’ve got,” she said. “I may not have the prettiest feet, because I’m pigeon-toed naturally. I may not have the straightest leg. But I’m going to give this everything I have.”

The show, which includes the songs “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango,” is a scathing satire of how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals.

Others who have played Roxie include Marilu Henner, Lisa Rinna, Bebe Neuwirth, Sandy Duncan and Christie Brinkley. Brandy saw the show when it starred Usher as Billy Flynn, Roxie’s slick lawyer, in 2006.

Members of Brandy’s family were in the audience April 28 when she made her debut. One of those most impressed was her 12-year-old daughter, Sy’rai, who was in tears. “She said, ‘Mommy, you were phenomenal!’ It was as if she had never seen me in that way,” Brandy said.

Doing Broadway at 36 may be outside Brandy’s comfort zone but that was the hope. She said she realized her life and career in Los Angeles had become stagnant about eight months ago.

“Change needed to happen for my life. I wasn’t in a very good place,” she said. “I didn’t like it that I hadn’t been dreaming in a very long time. And so I changed my mind. I wanted to dream again. I wanted to live again and be vibrant. I wanted to be me.”

Brandy said she was in part inspired by Keke Palmer, who made her professional stage debut in 2014 as the first African-American Cinderella on Broadway. Palmer said at the time that it was Brandy’s turn as Cinderella in a 1997 TV movie that helped her decide to take the plunge.

“She’s inspired me as much as I’ve inspired her,” said Brandy.

Her stage experience has left Brandy bubbling with creativity. She’d love to come back and be Roxie again or do something else on Broadway. She’d also love to have a role in the upcoming in “The Wiz” (“Can I audition for Dorothy? Glinda?” she asked, laughing). And another CD will definitely happen.

One thing is certain: Being in “Chicago” has reinvigorated the actress and singer. “I will never go back. Never, ever go back. Onward and upward,” she said. “I’m just so thankful.”

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Online: http://chicagothemusical.com

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

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4 days ago

October 4, 2026

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From Historic Memories to New Possibilities: Oakland Celebrates Coliseum 60

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, September 18, for Coliseum 60, an event marking six decades of sports, entertainment, employment, and community memories at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum first opened, the celebration featured cultural performances and a mini-documentary highlighting its history. Speakers reflected on the venue’s significant role in the community and its future possibilities. Read more to learn about the individuals and stories honored during this special event.

Published

2 weeks ago

September 27, 2026

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Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE moderates a panel discussion at the Coliseum 60 celebration at Youth UpRising featuring Keith Brown, a member of IATSE Local 107; author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; and African American Sports and Entertainment Group President Ray Bobbitt.

By Carla Thomas

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, Sept. 18, for Coliseum 60, a celebration honoring six decades of sports, entertainment, employment and community memories connected to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum opened, the event carried the theme, “One Community. One Legacy. One Future. Forward Together.”

The celebration opened with the national anthem performed by sisters Anese Jade, Amina Benjamin and Zaza Benjamin. Diamano Coura West African Dance Company contributed African dance and drumming, bringing movement, rhythm and cultural expression to the program.

A mini documentary highlighted the Coliseum’s sports history and its broader role as an entertainment destination. Archival material recalled performances by Prince and Tina Turner, along with memorable games featuring the Warriors, Oakland A’s and Raiders.

“The Coliseum 60 is about much more than celebrating a building or looking back at 60 years of history,” said event organizer Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE.

“It’s about the people who made that history possible: the families, workers, athletes, artists, community leaders, fans and generations who gathered there and created memories together.”

A panel exploring that history featured author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; stagehand and union representative Keith Brown; and Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group AASEG. Lewis described her family as fourth-generation Bay Area pioneers.

“My family and Black families who arrived even earlier helped build the Bay Area, grew businesses and established culture here,” Lewis said. “This should be taught in the public schools.”

Lewis recalled Oakland’s influence on sports, music and literature, from the Raiders’ beginnings at Laney College to stars such as The Pointer Sisters and Rickey Henderson who attended Oakland public schools. She also advocated for school museums, historical timelines, entrepreneurship training and investments benefiting corridors such as Bancroft Avenue and High Street.

Keith Brown, a member of Local 107 of the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE) who began working at the Coliseum in 2011, remembered the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Ice Capades, baseball bat giveaways and Nelson Mandela’s 1990 appearance.

“The special events are amazing, but it’s the workers that make the memories real for everyone,” Brown said. “They make the magic happen at the Coliseum.”

The program recognized longtime workers, including beer-stand manager Robert Preston, who served for 40 years, and Kenyatta Gentry, who worked as a vendor for 24 years and used her earnings to purchase her first apartment. Union workers Jose Gonzales and Carmen Sandoval were also honored. Speakers emphasized that Coliseum employment provided generations of residents with union wages and benefits.

Dr. Denise Saddler, the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was also honored. Saddler shared her family’s history of working at the Coliseum.

District 7 Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston discussed the complex ownership arrangements involving the city, county and private interests.

“This was the most complex deal of its kind in the country,” Houston said.

Prior to moving from the East Coast, Alameda County Supervisor and Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Chair Nate Miley recalled learning about Oakland through its three professional sports teams. As an elected official and public servant, Miley fought hard to keep the Golden State Warriors, Oakland As, and the Raiders, but he is hopeful for the future.

“The story is not over for the Coliseum,” Miley said. “We’re entering a new chapter.”

Bobbitt said the departure of three teams had once seemed unimaginable, but he maintained that Oakland’s future remains bright.

“Oakland is a cultural superpower worldwide,” Bobbitt said. “We’re going to write the future where we participate and drive the redevelopment.”

Bobbitt highlighted AASEG’s four-year partnership with Castlemont High School’s architecture program, which engages students in reimagining and creating redevelopment concepts for the Coliseum property. “The youth will always move us forward. They are the future.”

In closing, Atkins said, “September 18 is the celebration, but what we build together afterward is the legacy.”