Forget lemons—when life gives you Scandoval, break Broadway box office records. Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix marked her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago January 29, and led the long-running show to its best non-holiday week ticket sales ever, according to Broadway Week.
Madix crossed over from reality TV gossip into the broader zeitgeist after her ex-boyfriend and VPR co-star Tom Sandoval cheated on her with castmate Rachel Leviss and joined the musical in the lead role for a limited eight-week engagement. By Broadway Week’s numbers, the show grossed $939,177.40 for the week ending February 4.
Madix reacted to the news on Instagram, writing, “WHAT?!?!!!??!!! OMG!!! thank you so much to everyone who came and saw all of us give our best razzle dazzle!”
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Speaking to Vanity Fair before her debut, Madix said that she relates to her character, Roxie Hart, a tabloid fascination herself after she kills her paramour and is sent to women’s prison. The classic musical centers on the machinations of the case and the manipulation of the media in crafting a narrative, saving face while in the public eye.
“There are elements of Roxie that I really connect with—some of her dialogue, specifically; saying things like, ‘If life is a game, I’ll play it the best. I won’t give up. I won’t give in.’” Madix said. “She literally is never down and out. And if she is, she’s not there for long. That is something that I’ve related to because this past year, this isn’t the first time that I’ve been through shit. I am 38 years old. This isn’t the first time that I’ve been knocked down. This isn’t the first time I’ve struggled. This isn’t the first time that I’ve had to try to lift myself up. I think that that’s something with Roxie—that she can’t be counted out.”
Though Sandoval is still living in the house Madix owns (which she says she’s trying to sell), for the next few months, until her run concludes March 24, she’s living a long-held dream.
“I don’t know that I ever thought that I would be able to play Roxie,” Madix said. “You almost think the dream is too big, right? That it’ll never happen for you.”