Mya Signs On For ‘Chicago’

Singer Mya has joined Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Christine Baranski, and John C. Reilly in the cast of Miramax Films’ musical feature “Chicago.” Mya, who has released two albums on Interscope since 1998, is currently in Toronto rehearsing with the rest of the cast for her supporting role in the Rob Marshall-directed film. Shooting is to start Dec. 12, with a scheduled Christmas 2002 bow.
In the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, Mya will star as Mona, one of the cell block prisoners guilty of murder. The pop/R&B songstress will also be featured singing and dancing in a solo section during the “Cell Block Tango” sequence.

The adaptation of the Broadway musical is said to be a completely new and stylized version, in which all of the original parts have been rewritten.

Mya’s “Chicago” outing won’t be her first foray into movies. She made her feature film debut in the Michael Rymer-directed “In Too Deep,” a 1999 movie co-starring LL Cool J and Omar Epps that was also released by Miramax.

Earlier this year, she teamed with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Lil’ Kim on the No. 1 single “Lady Marmalade” on the soundtrack to 20th Century Fox’s “Moulin Rouge” and has also contributed to the film soundtracks of “Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” “The Rugrats Movie,” and “Bulworth.”

Mya plans release the follow-up to 2000’s “Fear of Flying” next year. That set debuted at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at No. 15 on The Billboard 200.

— Chris Gardner