R&B; Superstar Usher to Play Legal Eagle Billy Flynn in Chicago

R&B superstar Usher will join the Broadway company of Chicago as legal ace Billy Flynn on August 22, with plans to stay in the hit musical through October 1.

"This is a very exciting time in my career," Usher said in a statement. "I have always admired Broadway actors for their showmanship, dedication and focus that goes into performing live on stage every night. Being on Broadway allows you to connect to audiences in a whole new way that's different from music and movies. When they asked me to play Billy Flynn in Chicago, I jumped at the chance to be a part of such an amazing production."

The 27-year-old performer, whose full name is Usher Raymond, is best known as a recording artist. His eponymous debut album was released in 1994 and quickly provided the gold single "Think of You." In 1997 he released My Way, the album that included the platinum hits "You Make Me Wanna," "Nice & Slow" and "My Way." Live, a concert recording, was released in 1999, followed by All About U 2000, 8701 2001 and Confessions 2004, which sold over 15 million albums. He has received five Grammy Awards.

As an actor, Usher's credits include a stint on the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, a recurring role on the sitcom Moesha and guest-starring roles in TV series such as 7th Heaven, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Twilight Zone and Soul Food. He played Marvin Gaye in an episode of American Dreams. He had been announced to produce and star in The Ballad of Walter Holmes, a feature film about an R&B singer to be directed by George C. Wolfe.

Chicago currently stars Rita Wilson as Roxie Hart, Brenda Braxton as Velma Kelly, Kevin Chamberlin as Amos Hart and Lillias White at Matron Mama Morton.