Dancer, choreographer, and actor Mark Ballas returned to Broadway April 6 in the Tony-winning revival of Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre.
Ballas, who has been a pro on the ABC reality competition Dancing With the Stars
since 2007, winning the series three times, has stepped into the role of
slick lawyer Billy Flynn for a limited run through May 3. He is reunited with his
most recent Dancing With the Stars partner, Whitney Leavitt, who is playing Roxie Hart for an extended engagement, also through May 3.Â
Check out photos and video of the two reality stars sharing their first Broadway bows together below.
READ: Whitney Leavitt Knows What You Think of Her, and She’s Happy to Prove You Wrong
Ballas made his Broadway debut in 2016 as the final Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theatre, later performing the role in the national tour. He went on to star as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway in 2019, and previously appeared in the U.K. national tour of The Buddy Holly Story.
Leavitt, star of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, is making her Broadway debut in the record-breaking production.
Check out Chicago merchandise in the Playbill Store
The Broadway production, currently celebrating its 29th
anniversary, also features Sophie Carmen-Jones as
Velma Kelly, Jacqueline B. Arnold as
Matron “Mama” Morton, J. Workman as Mary Sunshine, and Greg Hildreth as Amos Hart.
The company also includes Tia Altinay, Zach Bravo, Austin
Dunn, Jennifer Dunne, Jessica Ernest, John Michael Fiumara, Danielle
Marie Gonzalez, Chelsea James, Christopher Kelley, James T. Lane, Marty
Lawson, Joseph London, Kristen Faith Oei, Denny Paschall, Mariah Reives,
Sean Samuels, Samantha Sturm, and Jeff Sullivan.
The revival of Chicago began life as one of the three annual Encores!
presentations offered by City Center. The musical opened on Broadway at
the Richard Rodgers Theatre November 14, 1996, where it remained
through February 1997. The musical transferred to the Shubert Theatre,
and played that house through January 26, 2003. The revival reopened at
the Ambassador Theatre January 29 that year.
Since its debut in 1996, Chicago has played in 36 countries
and been seen by 33 million people worldwide. It is now the
second-longest running show in Broadway history (after the recently
closed The Phantom of the Opera).
READ: How the Chicago Costumes Have Evolved Over 25 Years
With a book by the late Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Ebb, Chicago
features direction by Walter Bobbie, choreography by the late Ann
Reinking, set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey
Long, lighting design by Ken Billington, sound design by Scott Lehrer,
and casting by ARC.
The current production, produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, won the
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1997 as well as awards for
actors Bebe Neuwirth and James Naughton, director Bobbie, lighting
designer Billington, and Reinking. The original production was directed
and choreographed by the late Fosse.
