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Broadway is always up for a surprise casting shake-up—and this one comes with a built-in fanbase of more than four million followers. Whitney Leavitt, the Utah creator turned reality-TV star, will step into sequins to play Roxie Hart in Chicago for a six-week run. Leavitt’s first turn on the Great White Way will begin on February 2.
While Leavitt broke out on Hulu’s hit The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, her resume feels made for a splashy musical entrance. She danced her way to the semifinals on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars and, offscreen, she’s known for her comedic family content, choreographed routines and millennial-mom candor—all energy that should translate neatly into her charming, chaotic role as Roxie.
The long-running revival (it’s now the longest-running American musical in Broadway history) has gone through its share of celebrity Roxies. Leavitt will follow Kate Baldwin, who currently leads the cast. Before Baldwin, fellow reality TV stars Ariana Madix and Erika Jayne also took on the role.
The production’s heavyweight lineup also includes Sophie Carmen-Jones as Velma Kelly, Tam Mutu as Billy Flynn, Alex Newell as Mama Norton and Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart.
The show remains anchored by its award-winning creative team, which includes director Walter Bobbie, choreographer Ann Reinking, set designer John Lee Beatty, costume designer William Ivey Long, lighting by Ken Billington and sound by Scott Lehrer. Barry and Fran Weissler will continue to produce, hoping to build on a trophy shelf that already includes six Tonys and a Grammy.
If you need a refresher on the plot: Chicago spins through the jazz-era maze of murder, celebrity and courtroom theatrics as Roxie Hart transforms a messy situation into a tabloid-fueled fame machine. It’s all suspiciously contemporary.