Ariana Madix will not be taking the stage in Chicago on Broadway on Tuesday, February 27.
“On Sunday I had a coughing fit during the show and last night my voice felt funny and started to disappear during nowadays,” Madix, 38, explained via her Instagram Story on Tuesday. “I’ve been resting it, steaming, doing all the things but today nothing is working and no sound comes out when I try to speak.”
She continued, “At the risk of compromising the show and causing injury to myself, I have to call out for tonight’s show. I know how far some of you travel to come and I know theatre tickets are expensive.”
Madix added that she’s “so sorry” that she won’t be able to perform but assured fans the show will “be beyond fabulous” without her. She went on to praise the cast and orchestra, who she said “are the absolute best in every way.”
“I’m hoping that whatever this is goes away FAST because I hate this feeling and I don’t want to let you down,” she concluded.
The Vanderpump Rules star made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago in January. During her first curtain call, she held a bouquet of roses as she bowed for a crowd of fans, which included fellow VPR castmates Lala Kent and Scheana Shay and former star Dayna Kathan.
Madix was also pictured at the show with her boyfriend, Daniel Wai. (Madix and Wai were first spotted together in April 2023, one month after she split from Tom Sandoval amid his cheating scandal.)
The reality star’s casting news was announced in December 2023 after she placed third during Dancing With the Stars season 32. Madix revealed during an interview with Extra that it’s been her “lifelong dream” to star on Broadway.
“It is literally the reason why anything else has ever happened,” Madix gushed. “It’s the reason why I majored in theater … it’s the reason why I lived [in NYC] so long ago. It’s ultimately even the reason I moved to L.A. in the first place, so it’s crazy.”
Madix joined the star-studded list of women who’ve played Roxie Hart over the years, including Pamela Anderson, Erika Jayne, Lisa Rinna, Ashlee Simpson and Michelle Williams.
Chicago is the longest-running show in Broadway history. The show’s original NYC run lasted a little over one month in 1975. It made its return to Broadway in 1996.
