Skater Elvis Stojko to make pro acting debut in Mirvish production of ‘Chicago’

TORONTO – Canadian Olympic figure skating star Elvis Stojko will make his professional acting debut as smooth-talking lawyer Billy Flynn in an upcoming production of “Chicago, the Musical.”

Mirvish Productions is mounting the musical as part of its 50th anniversary season.

Stojko has chosen a daunting role to launch his stage career. The part has previously been tackled by Billy Rae Cyrus, Alan Thicke and Tom Wopat — as well as by Richard Gere in the 2002 Oscar-winning film.

Audiences can see Stojko’s incarnation when “Chicago” opens at the Princess of Wales Theatre next March.

The three-time world figure skating champion has dabbled in acting previously as Robin Williams’ double in “Death to Smoochy.”

He’s also released an album.

Other productions announced by Mirvish on Tuesday include “Puppet Up! — Uncensored” — an improvised comedy stage show featuring puppets from the Jim Henson Company which will run at the Panasonic Theatre starting Oct. 22.

The show is co-created by acclaimed director/producer/writer Brian Henson — son of the late puppeteer great Jim Henson — and features the Miskreant Puppets. Show co-creator Patrick Bristow hosts the adult-targeted production and has six puppeteers creating scenes on the fly.

Other productions include the musical spoof “The Musical of Musicals, the Musical!,” written by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell. A hit at the recent Toronto Fringe Festival, it will play the Panasonic Theatre starting in December.

Owen Sheers’ London drama “The Two Worlds of Charlie F,” about soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, will make its North American premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre in February.

Newfoundland native Cassidy Little stars in the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival hit, which is performed by medically discharged military personnel and professional actors.

Beside “Chicago,” several other hit musicals are also returning to the city, including Green Day’s “American Idiot,” the Beatles tribute show “Rain” and the Queen musical “We Will Rock You.”

Mirvish has also announced casting news for several previously shows, including theatre veteran Brian Bedford’s turn as the pope in the Vatican mystery thriller “The Last Confession.”

Meanwhile, four Canadian actors will star in the Olivier- and Tony-winning comedy “God of Carnage”: John Bourgeois, Linda Cash, Tony Nappo, and Sarah Orenstein.