"The Sopranos" are Moving in on "Chicago"

Aida Turturro and Vincent Pastore, two of the more prominent supporting players on "The Sopranos," will join the cast of the long-running Broadway musical revival on Nov. 19, producer Barry Weissler announced Tuesday.

Turturro, who portrayed Janice Soprano (Tony Soprano's tough-minded sister), on the HBO TV series, will play Matron "Mama" Morton in the Kander and Ebb musical. Pastore will play Amos Hart, the hen-pecked husband of chorine Roxie Hart in the show. The actor appeared as Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on "The Sopranos," which end its cable television run in June.

"It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun," Pastore said in a telephone interview.

The actor said the "Chicago" producers reached out to him several years ago, but he was doing more work in Hollywood at the time. "Since then, I have come back to New York and bought a house in the Bronx," Pastore said. "I think it will be a nice job for me to stay in New York and do some theater."

Pastore hasn't sung or danced on stage since the beginning of his career when he did community theater. "It looks like a tough schedule, but I will get used to it," he said. "This is my first Broadway experience."

Asked what kind of preparation he was undergoing, Pastore said, "I'm sleeping a lot. I'm trying to get my body adjusted to performing at night. I'm sleeping later and staying up later.

"I'm in love with the play. I've seen it again a few times and I'm anxious to do this. And I'm working with some great people," said Pastore, who will begin rehearsals in early November.

Both Pastore and Turturro will appear in "Chicago" through Jan. 13. The musical, which is approaching its 11th year on Broadway, is playing at the Ambassador Theatre. The show currently features Adriane Lenox as Matron "Mama" Morton and Rob Bartlett as Amos Hart.

Thanks to Michael Kuchwara