Brooke Shields Talks 'Chicago' Directorial Debut

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A bevy of famous faces from the stage and screen are uniting to put on a special production of the famed musical Chicago at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl later this month. At its helm is Brooke Shields, who opened up to ET Canada about the daunting, yet thrilling, undertaking.

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"It's exhausting," admits Shields who, in her directorial debut, wears a great many hats during in the musical's production. "You're a therapist, you're a politician… You have to be aware that person is starting to freak out, I gotta talk them off a cliff, and you've got to make sure they have confidence because this is not an easy thing for any of them to do."

Samantha Barks, Stephen Moyer, Ashlee Simpson and Lucy Lawless are among the talented group assembled for the 3-day stint starting July 26. Though Barks is a world-renowned performer, the 22-year-old singing prodigy confessed to feeling a bit of apprehension about stepping into the role of prison-row temptress Velma Kelly—a part Catherine Zeta-Jones earned an Academy Award for.

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"There's not gonna be an Oscar for me!" laughed Barks, who said her excitement for the project far outweighed her jitters. "Of course there's great pressure. That's the thing with these, like, musical theater long-running shows, there's always going to be somebody that you look up to that's played it before and, you know, you can't think about that."

Chicago: The Musical will play the Hollywood Bowl July 26-28. Tickets can be purchased here.