Chandra Wilson will temporarily be leaving the small screen to trade her scrubs for a prison guard's uniform.  According to Playbill.com, the 39-year-old Grey's Anatomy actress will be joining the cast of the musical Chicago for a four-week stint on Broadway.  She'll be playing "Mama" Morton, the bawdy prison matron previously portrayed by Queen Latifah in the 2002 big screen adaptation of the popular play.

A Kander and Ebb musical set in prohibition era Chicago, the play Chicago is a parody on corruption in the administration of criminal justice, and the concept of the "celebrity criminal." Chicago won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, and director Walter Bobbie.  It is considered Broadway's eighth longest-running show in history and currently plays at the Ambassador Theatre, located at 219 West 49th Street.

This isn't Wilson's first attempt in theater though this marks her first Broadway gig since joining Grey's Anatomy in 2005.  For her work as Dr. Miranda Bailey on the medical drama, she has earned three NAACP Image Awards, three Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

Last time Wilson appeared on stage was on the Tony Kushner musical Caroline, Or Change, back in 2004.  Prior to that, she starred in Avenue Q and On the Town.  She also received a Theatre World Award for her performance in Off-Broadway's The Good Times Are Killing Me.

Fans can catch Wilson on stage from June 8 to July 5.  In the mean time, the acclaimed actress can be seen on Grey's Anatomy, airing every Thursday at 9pm on ABC.



-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: playbill.com
(Image courtesy of ABC)