Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas reunite in 'Chicago' as partners in crime

Leavitt, who's making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical, will be joined by her recent Dancing with the Stars partner Ballas as Billy Flynn from April 6 to May 3.

Summary

• Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas discuss co-starring in Chicago on Broadway as Roxie Hart and Billy Flynn
• The pair both perform from April 6 to May 3
• Leavitt and Ballas were partners on season 35 of Dancing with the Stars in 2025

Whitney Leavitt knows a thing or two about manifestation. When The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star last spoke with New York Theatre Guide ahead of her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago, she said she'd love Mark Ballas, her Dancing with the Stars pro partner from a few months prior, as a co-star.

"Should he be a Billy?" Leavitt said in January, naming the lawyer who helps Roxie razzle-dazzle her way out of a murder conviction. "Maybe he should audition for that role. I think he'd be a great Billy. Let's put it out in the universe."

Ballas, after all, has been on Broadway twice before (in Jersey Boys and Kinky Boots) and posted numerous social media videos with Leavitt in NYC since her casting. So the March 10 announcement that he would, in fact, join Chicago as Billy made sense and confirmed what fans had hoped for months. Ballas performs from April 6 to May 3; Leavitt, who was previously scheduled to depart the show April 5, has extended her run to join him.

The pair danced to "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago and "The Room Where It Happens" from Hamilton on season 35 of DWTS this past fall, ultimately placing sixth despite earning strong scores. While they got closure by performing their planned final dance on the podcast Call Her Daddy after their elimination, their journey still felt unfinished. Chicago has proven an apt place to continue it, as their characters' dynamic isn't far from their real-life one, according to Ballas. (Murder aside, of course.)

Watching the Chicago scene where Billy tries in vain to prepare Roxie for a press conference made Ballas think, “‘That is just so us,’” he said with a smile. "I'm trying to think of what we're doing here, and she's over here goofing off." But he and Leavitt do share a work-hard-play-hard mentality, and their rapport is exactly what fans are coming to see. It shone through in their conversation about joining Chicago together, below.

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Once you two did "Cell Block Tango" and "The Room Where It Happened" on DWTS, seeing Whitney on Broadway seemed inevitable. Mark, did you expect to be joining her back then?

Mark Ballas: No! We got the "Cell Block Tango" song at the right time in the season. I think it was the only dance we got a perfect score for, too.

Whitney Leavitt: I think it is.

Ballas: I remember, throughout the week, being like, "You're going to be in the show for sure." And then it happened, and then I got the call, and here we are.

I'm just super excited. I'm very grateful to be a part of the show — it's been running for so long. It's something I've studied, I've seen so many times. To be able to do it with my dear friend now is pretty cool.

How has it been to rehearse together again?

Leavitt: It's just been similar. The only thing different is, it's just a different stage, a different environment, and different task, but we're still having fun.

Ballas: To your surprise, we haven't rehearsed a lot together yet. I've been learning the show with our dance captain, with these amazing stage managers that help me get ready for this, because Whitney's doing eight shows a week right now. [She's] got to conserve energy. But this week, it's going to be go time. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also hoping we don't make each other laugh all the time.

What have you learned from each other while working on this show so far?

Leavitt: Just doing it. It sounds so simple, but if you go in it with full force and confidence, then it's like, how can it not go uphill from there? When we're timid with something new, then the audience can feel that. That's been my takeaway from Mark: Just go out there and have some confidence, and they're going to feel that, and then that's going to motivate you throughout the whole show.

Ballas: For me, when I'm learning something, I'm the type of person that goes all in. I went to the show every night when I was learning [it]. It was awesome to see Whitney totally thrive and hand in amazing performances night after night, and then also learning the pace, the speed, what the dynamic is in the cast. I'm really looking forward to getting on my feet with everybody.

Mark, you've had so many Dancing with the Stars partners over the years, including many involved in theatre. What makes this partnership different such that you wanted to perform with Whitney again?

Ballas: We just get each other. We just have a laugh. We have fun. This season was exciting, and because of Whitney's openness and her performance quality, I was able to dive into areas in the performances that I wouldn't necessarily do. She had trust in me with the song selections and the choices, and we were just able to produce some pretty cool stuff.

Even though our time was cut short and we didn't get to make the final, we still got to create that last piece, and everything was leading to that. I was so excited to do that one. To be able to still make that, that was a Dancing with the Stars first for me. And now starring on Broadway with Whitney is also another Dancing with the Stars first.

Yeah, I can't think of any other Dancing with the Stars partners who have ever co-starred on Broadway.

Leavitt: (in deep voice) Because it's never happened, sweetie.

Ballas: Not the Twilight Zone voice! Yeah, this is a first, so we're stoked. It's going to be fun.

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Photo credit: Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas for Chicago. (Photo courtesy of production)