Rumer Willis to play Roxie Hart in the Broadway musical 'Chicago'

NEW YORK, July 16 (UPI) -- Singer, actress and Dancing with the Stars winner Rumer Willis is to play Roxie Hart in the Broadway musical Chicago, producers announced Thursday.

The daughter of divorced screen stars Bruce Willis and Demi Moore will start performances in the long-running show Aug. 18. She will play an eight-week limited engagement at Manhattan's Ambassador Theatre through Oct. 11.

Chicago currently stars Grammy Award-winner Brandy Norwood as Roxie, Amra-Faye Wright as Velma Kelly, Ivan Hernandez as Billy Flynn, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, NaTasha Yvette Williams as Matron "Mama" Morton and R. Lowe as Mary Sunshine.

The winner of six 1997 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival, Chicago is the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.

"Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her," a synopsis said. "Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago's slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids."

Willis' father Bruce is to make his Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of Stephen King's Misery this fall.