Billy Ray Cyrus will debut on Broadway in 'Chicago'

Billy Ray Cyrus will debut on Broadway in 'Chicago'

Country singer/actor/celebrity dad Billy Ray Cyrus is poised to make his bow on the New York stage in the long-running revival of Chicago. From Nov. 5 through Dec. 23, Cyrus, 50, will join the cast as the suave, ethically challenged attorney Billy Flynn.

"I love acting, and I'm always up for learning new things," says Cyrus, who appeared in a Toronto production of Annie Get Your Gun in 2005. But he had never seen Chicago on stage, or the film version, when producers invited him to check out the show about a year ago.

At that time, John O'Hurley was playing Flynn. "His performance was so brilliant, and I fell in love with this character. He's got a lot of heart and soul, but he's got an agenda, too. I like that contradiction."

Cyrus later watched the movie adaptation and was similarly impressed by Richard Gere's Flynn. "I'm probably going to borrow from both performances â€" but make it my own, as they say in this business." Not that he assumes it will be easy: "I get a little nervous thinking about it. Maybe a lot nervous."

Cyrus' plans for next year include, in addition to an autobiography â€"Hillbilly Heart, due in April â€" another world tour. He'll have a new album to promote, tentatively titled Change My Mind and scheduled for an October release, right before his Broadway debut. "It's got some killer Southern rock," Cyrus says, along with blues and bluegrass accents.

One new song, That's What Daddys Do, premiered on his site on Father's Day; it features two of his daughters, Brandi and Noah. Noah is 12 â€" the same age, Cyrus notes, that her older sister Miley was "when we started Hannah Montana."

So will Noah follow her sibling into the business? "Gosh," Cyrus demurs, "I hope she just keeps going to school and riding horses and having a nice, normal life. But she does have a gift. She's got a lot of the same qualities as Miley."

Cyrus is sunny on the subject of his famous offspring, who recently got engaged to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth.

"No date has been set," Cyrus says. "But I'm happy to see Miley happy. She's making new music and just really enjoying life. Miley and I have a mantra, something my father told me: 'If you're not having fun, it ain't working.' And we're having fun."