As those “merry murderesses” Velma and Roxy vie for attention and sympathy in the musical “Chicago,” some audience members may root for one or the other.

But don’t forget Mama Morton, the prison matron who unabashedly sings about her one-hand-washes-the-other attitude in her big number, “When You’re Good to Mama.”

“You see the corruption,” said singer Illeana Kirven, who has the role of Mama in the touring show that Broadway in Scranton will bring to the Scranton Cultural Center for four shows March 6-8. “But you see that she’s motherly. She loves the girls, and she’s a businesswoman.”

The musical offers much to enjoy, Kirven said, pointing to spectacular music and dancing.

“I have a lot of favorite moments,” she said. “I love seeing Roxy do her number, and I love watching Velma.”

“I love Amos, too,” she said, mentioning Roxy’s hapless husband. “He’s so lovable and gullible.”

The storyline, set in a Cook County jail in the early 20th century, is popular beyond the United States, said Kirven, who traveled through South Korea with the show’s 25th anniversary tour in 2023.

“Oh, my God, they loved it,” she said of the Asian audiences.

Kirven, who grew up in Texas, used to think she would someday become a nurse, not necessarily an entertainer. “But I always loved music,” she said, adding, “it just kind of happened” that she found success in musical theatre.

She never tires of traveling, she said, and likes to explore each city the tour visits.

“Every city, great and small, has something special about it,” she said, adding she’s looking forward to seeing what Scranton has to offer.

While the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour won’t be open for the season until April 1, Cooper’s Seafood House — which was mentioned several times on the TV show “The Office” — should be open for business. “Oh, we have to go there,” Kirven said during a telephone interview, after a reporter mentioned the statues of pirates the restaurant has on display.

Show times for “Chicago” at the Scranton Cultural Center are 7:30 p.m. March 6; 2 p.m. March 7; 7:30 p.m. March 7 and 1 p.m. March 8.