‘Label•less’ is Drew and Lea Lachey's most personal project yet

After a sold-out debut, the husband-and-wife team return off Broadway, guiding a new generation of performers who use movement and song to amplify their stories.

Summary

• Lea and Drew Lachey discuss the origins and evolution of their Off-Broadway show Label•less
• Label•less is a musical theatre experience inspired by the performers' real life stories and struggles
• The show plays its second NYC run from June 10 to August 29
• The show features original movement and songs interspersed with pop hits

“We created this show to give a platform, a voice, to young people when they’ve felt like they weren’t being seen,” said Drew Lachey of Label•less, a musical he co-wrote and -directed with his wife, Lea Lachey. The 90-minute experience, which tackles the challenges and social barriers of today’s world through a high-energy blend of original music and real-life stories, is set to return to the New York stage this summer, following a limited, sold-out 2025 run. The remount will run at the Duke on 42nd Street from June 10 to August 29.

The spark for the production ignited nearly eight years ago while the couple was leading a musical theatre program at their alma mater, Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts. During an empathy exercise, students wrote down anonymous notes about how they felt unseen, revealing painful experiences ranging from gender discrimination to racism to homophobia.

“We came home that night, spread out the pieces of paper, and we were really, really taken aback by all of the things these students that we saw day in and day out were going through,” Lea remembered. What began as a way to empower that specific class has since evolved into a professional production where the monologues are adjusted to the real lives of the performers, who even include the couple's daughter, Iz Lachey.

Lea emphasized the integrity of this process, noting that Drew “sat down with each cast member and made sure those stories were told the right way, with their permission.” Drew noted, “You can’t argue with somebody’s truth.”

For Drew, whose career has spanned the multi-platinum heights of the boyband 98 Degrees to a victory on TV’s Dancing with the Stars, Label•less represents a full-circle return to the theatre. Having played the role of Mark Cohen in Rent on Broadway, Drew is now leveraging his platform to amplify a new generation of voices.

The raw honesty of Label•less has already drawn high-profile parallels from audiences. “Last March when we were in New York, we got a comparison quite often to A Chorus Line,” Lea said, while also noting they frequently hear the show being likened to Rent. Drew added that while the pair has immense respect for those Pulitzer Prize-winning shows, the fact that their stories are true to the cast members gives Label•less “a credibility that a lot of shows don’t have as far as storytelling.”

“It’s our favorite thing to talk about right now,” Drew said of the project’s evolution, while Lea added that the creation process has been “a very empowering thing to be a part of.”

Lea, who choreographs the show, uses movement where words fall short. She described her style as a mix of high-level technical styles and relatable, everyday human motion designed to keep the performance feeling grounded and real. “I want the audience to truly experience that and feel moved by the storytelling as well,” Lea explained. By mounting the show at an intimate, 200-seat venue, the Lacheys hope to keep the audience close enough to “hear the breath” of the performers.

The score of Label•less includes original music penned by Drew alongside Paul Duncan, Aaron Space, Jamie Jones, Jimmy Rodgers, and Isabella Langley, intertwined with familiar anthems like Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Audra Day’s “Rise Up.” These recognizable songs act as a “celebration of people and who they are as individuals,” which allows the audience to latch onto something familiar. Despite the weight of some of the stories, the Lacheys emphasized that the primary goal is for the audience to leave with a sense of hope. “It’s hope for a better future,” Drew said.

Beyond the art, the core mission of the Lacheys’ nonprofit, Lachey Arts (the belief that “the arts should be available for everyone”) remains central to the production’s ethos. The couple originally conceived the organization while living in Los Angeles, eventually launching it after their move back to Cincinnati in 2010 to provide training and scholarships to young performers. Today, that commitment to accessibility continues at the Duke.

“We always have a ticket that’s priced so a family of four can come see the show for the same price of [...] one ticket for another show,” Drew said. “We definitely want to make sure that the world gets the opportunity to see Label•less because we feel like the message is powerful and the show is just very entertaining, too."

Get Label•less tickets now.

Top image credit: Drew and Lea Lachey. (Photos by Angie Lipscomb)
In-article image credit: Label•less off Broadway. (Photos by Angie Lipscomb)