Vanderpump Rules Star Ariana Madix to Make Broadway Debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago

The reality star has landed the coveted lead role of Roxie Hart in the satirical criminal musical for a limited engagement from January 29 through March 24. This comes on the heels of her third-place finish on Dancing with the Stars Monday night.

On that show, Madix said that she'd always wanted to be a performer, and that her experience on the dance floor had empowered her to try again to fulfill that dream at 38 years old.

"It's just the biggest dream come true," Madix told Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on Live Wednesday. "I cannot believe this is real life. I'm going to cry."

Madix recently made her acting debut on Lifetime's Buying Back My Daughter. Now she'll get the chance to prove her musical theater chops on a live stage night after night on what's now the longest-running American musical in Broadway history; the revival opened in 1996.

The Chicago revival has not been shy about bringing in some unexpected celebs to play its' major roles, including for Roxie Hart.

Madix's take on the character will follow such names as Pamela Anderson, Mel B, Christine Brinkley, Brooke Shields, Rumer Willis, and fellow Bravo stars Erika Jayne, and Lisa Rinna. Kandi Burruss and NeNe Leakes have also appeared as Mama Morton.

Before landing the role that would make her famous for reasons she'd probably rather not dwell on, Madix studied musical theater in college and tried to make a go of it in New York City after graduation. When that didn't work, she wound up in Los Angels working for Bravo star Lisa Vanderpump.

That led to an opportunity to star on Vanderpump Rules, which has carried her through the past decade. It also landed her on front page headlines earlier this year after she was part of a cheating scandal that saw her long-time boyfriend Tom Sandoval and her best friend Raquel (née Rachel) Leviss hooking up behind her back.

After she caught them, the whole "Scandoval" took the nation by storm for some reason, becoming the biggest story in the country for several months as Bravo crews rushed back into filming to capture the drama, which exploded over a series of epic reunion specials.

VPR has since completed filming on its upcoming Season 11, which kicked off shortly after the scandal. In the meantime, Madix had signed on to DWTS, Sandoval took part in Special Forces: World's Toughest Test and The Masked Singer, and Leviss vanished to focus on her mental health (and change her name back to Rachel). Of the three, only Sandoval and Madix returned to the main series.

While Madix kicks off her Broadway run on January 29, she will also be seen on Vanderpump Rules, which is also set for a January 2024 return on Bravo.