Illness forces Usher from show

Usher, plagued by strep throat since last week, is out of “Chicago” for the final days of his two-month Broadway engagement in the long-running musical revival.

The R&B; star became ill last Friday and has not been in the show since, Jonnetta Patton, his manager, said Thursday.

The show has done boffo business since Usher, playing conniving lawyer Billy Flynn, joined the Bob Fosse and Kander and Ebb musical. Christopher McDonald takes over the role of Flynn on Sunday. Understudy Bernard Dotson has played Flynn during Usher’s illness.