Taylor Lane can trace her choice of career to Elvis Presley’s guitar pick.

As a youngster living in Chicago, Lane was taken by her grandmother to see “Million Dollar Quartet,” a jukebox musical inspired by the real life meeting of Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins at Sun Studio in Memphis. During the show, the actor playing the King of Rock and Roll tossed Lane his guitar pick.

“It changed my life,” says Lane. “I probably still have it in a drawer somewhere.”

Now onstage herself as Velma Kelly in the Broadway tour of “Chicago,” Lane is the one making little girl’s dreams come true. Reached by phone while on tour in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Lane says she’s honored to star in her hometown’s namesake musical.

“It’s a pretty wild experience,” says Lane of being cast. “I grew up knowing the show, knowing the movie, learning [Bob] Fosse in my dance studio and knowing the music. It’s funny, there’s certain lines or odes to Chicago in the script that I recognize.”

Set in Jazz Age Chicago, the musical concerns the trial of Roxie Hart, a chorus girl who murders her lover when he tries to break off their affair. Her rival for the attention of the tabloids is Velma Kelly, a vaudevillian who killed her husband and sister after finding out they were having an affair together. The musical is based on a 1926 play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a former Chicago courthouse reporter who was inspired by her coverage of two unrelated cases where women were suspected and later acquitted of murder.

With music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, “Chicago” satirizes the criminal justice system, the press and celebrity culture. The original 1975 production was directed and choreographed by Fosse; the 1996 Broadway revival is the second longest-running show in Broadway history, second only to “The Phantom of the Opera.”

“There’s scandal and creativity and ‘Razzle Dazzle’ in the show,” says Lane, referencing one of the show’s best-known numbers. “The story is fun. It’s murder. It’s mystery. It’s sexy, but it’s funny. It’s a comedy. I think that sneaks up on a lot of people, that the root of the show is based in vaudeville.”

Though Lane has previously toured with “Jesus Christ Superstar” and played various roles in regional theater, “Chicago” marks her debut in a lead role.

“I’m so used to being a dancer in the ensemble. I’ve always loved singing and acting, but I’ve always been a chorus girl,” she says. “This has been the absolute highlight of my career. I feel so thankful and lucky to be in these shoes and honored to bring to life one of the most iconic musical theater characters in history.”

Lane has also appreciated the response from audiences to the show.

“A lot of people like to dress up like the 1920s, so we’ll get flapper girls who come in a full getup,” she says. “People are big fans and know the musical very well. The second the first chord of a song strikes they go wild because they know what’s coming.”

Referencing her encounter with Elvis, Lane says she’s had a similar impact on at least one little girl. At the end of the show, she and the actress playing Roxie Hart throw roses into the audience. One day, Lane received a message on social media from the mother of a little girl who had caught her rose the night before. It had been the girl’s birthday, and she was so thrilled to receive the rose that she had brought it to school for show and tell; she also wanted to cut her hair in a bob similar to that of Velma Kelly.

“It was really nice to hear from that family and know that you made someone’s day,” Lane says.

Asked about the show’s appeal, Lane says “Chicago” still has the right moves half a century since it first debuted on Broadway.

“There’s a reason ‘Chicago’ is the longest-running show in Broadway history. It’s been on Broadway for the last 28 years because it’s good,” Lane says. “You’ll leave singing the songs. You’ll leave remembering the dance moves. You’ll be dazzled.”

Broadway in Richmond’s “Chicago” plays May 9-11 at the Altria Theater, 6 N. Laurel St. For more information, visit broadwayinrichmond.com.