[Ed. note: Stupid pun? Shut up, you love it.] Mexican actress Bianca Marroquin has become the first Latina to take a role across the border:

That role is Roxie, the vivacious vixen of Kander and Ebb’s “Chicago,” to which Marroquin returns on Jan. 14. It will be much easier than it was four years ago, when she came to Broadway from Mexico City with strong legs but weak language skills.

“I hadn’t spoken English for eight years,” she recalled during the 39-hour drive from Mexico, where she spent the holidays (her husband, Luis Lojo, was at the wheel, their yellow Lab, Jack, in the back seat).

“My conversational skills were rusty and I wasn’t up to par with the slang. I had three weeks to re-learn the part, so I worked extra hard. And I pulled it off!”

If Ashlee Simpson can play the role of Roxie then, honestly sweetie, you probably don’t need to know a whole lot of anything to act the part.

‘CHICAGO’ HOPE [NY Post]