Sophie Carmen-Jones on the Significance and Specificity of Playing Velma Kelly in Chicago on Broadway

For Sophie Carmen-Jones, playing Velma Kelly in Chicago on Broadway is an actual dream come true. While an incredible role to play in general, it's one that holds extra significance for Jones, who is Welsh. When she was 11 years old, she went with her mom to a movie theater in her hometown of Swansea, Wales to see the 2002 film version of Chicago starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly. "I was obsessed obviously," she tells Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek. And once her mom told her the actress was also Welsh, "that was it," Jones says. "Because she was from where I was from, I was like, that means I can do it too. And from that moment it was my dream."

Jones also spoke to the specificity of Fosse-style dance, and what makes the choreography so impactful. "The things that you might not even notice—like a tilt of the wrist—if you don't do that, it doesn't look right. The minute you tilt the wrist to the correct angle and everyone does it, it's beautiful," she says. "There's so much isolation, there's so much discipline that you have to have performing Fosse-style. There's less freedom for you to do your own thing and add your own spin on it. I think there's beauty in that, the discipline to hit those exact shapes. The impact is phenomenal, and that's why the show is still incredible to watch."

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