Aoife Mulholland, one of the finalists of
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, will star as Roxie Hart in
Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre from 18 December. She will be the second finalist to perform a starring role in the West End, following in the footsteps of Connie Fisher, who is currently starring as Maria in
The Sound of Music. Annette McLaughlin is returning to
Chicago as Velma Kelly on the same date for her third season in the role.
Mulholland, a 28-year-old Irish actress, hails from Salthill in Galgway and has a Music degree from Dublin’s Univeristy College. She was studying for an MA in Acting and Musical Theatre at Central School of Speech and Drama in London at the time of the
Maria competition. She was knocked out of the running for the role of Maria in the fifth week of the TV show. She was a singer in a funk/jazz band and has previously had a professional four-month contract singing with
Dance of Desire (a show similar to
Riverdance). She began her performing career in amateur musicals—the first of which was a production of
The Sound of Music, in which she played Brigitta while her brother played Fredrick.
Current Chicago stars Ian Kelsey, Julian Sims and Brenda Edwards continue as Billy Flynn, Amos Hart and Mama Morton, respectively.