Sofía Vergara at Arsht

Latina Superstar Performs in Chicago

Hispanic superstar, Sofía Vergara, will appear as Matron Mama Morton in the Miami engagement of Chicago at the Adrienne Arsht Center from May 26 through 31.

The longtime Miami resident and Colombian native originally auditioned for the role of Roxy, the play’s ingénue; but because of scheduling conflicts that would have required the actress to learn the dance numbers in less than one month, Vergara was forced to pass on Roxy. The show’s producers, however, made a bold move by casting against type and offered Matron Mama Morton, the role played by Queen Latifah in the film version of Chicago, to the beautiful Vergara.

Miami is the only city outside of New York in which Vergara has agreed to play, primarily due to her affection for her former hometown. Vergara lived on Brickell Avenue and in South Beach and loves all of the city’s areas.

“I love Coral Gables and Aventura, South Beach and downtown,” she said. “Miami is only two hours from Colombia, so it was easy for my family to visit. My friends and I would joke that Miami is so close to the United States.”

Once her work with Chicago is completed, Vergara is set to start work on the new ABC pilot “An American Family” next month. Most recently, Vergara appeared in “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” and “Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail” for Lionsgate and on ABC’s breakout hit, “Dirty Sexy Money,” where she played the free-spirited love interest to the youngest Darling son. Before that, she played the sexy Colombian actress who stirred things up on last season’s “Entourage.” In 2008, Vergara starred in “Amas de Casa Desesperadas,” the Latin-tailored version of “Desperate Housewives.” She also starred in the FOX comedy feature film “Chasing Papi.”

Tickets for Chicago are available at the Adrienne Arsht Center box office, by phone at 305-949-6722, or online at arshtcenter.org. Tickets are also available though Ticketmaster by phone at 1-800-982-2787, online at ticketmaster.com and in person at Ticketmaster outlets. Orders for groups of 15 or more may be placed by calling the Broadway Across America at 1-800-6GROUPS (647-6877) or the Adrienne Arsht Center at 786-468-2326.