Five Reasons Mormon Wives and Dancing With the Stars Alum Whitney Leavitt Is Ready to Take on Broadway’s Chicago

After making a splash on Dancing with the Stars, Whitney Leavitt is taking on the role of Roxie Hart in Broadway’s Chicago. Like famous redhead Gwen Verdon, who originated the role back in the ‘70s, Leavitt is a hardworking ginger with a robust dance background. Unlike Verdon, Leavitt skyrocketed to fame by way of Hulu’s massively popular reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Now, the social media phenom and mom of three is heading to the Ambassador Theatre, right across the street from the doorbell-ringing Mormon boys. Is she ready for the big time? We’re going with yes. Read on for five reasons why the name on everybody’s lips is gonna be Whitney!

1. BORN TO DANCE
Outside of her viral MomToks, viewers first saw Leavitt bust a move while competing on this year’s season of Dancing with the Stars. However, the Utah-born influencer grew up dancing competitively and received a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a dance emphasis from Brigham Young University. "Some of my favorite memories are late-night practices with friends, long weekends at competitions, and the pure joy of performing on stage,” she told People. “Dance was and still is always my creative outlet and my happy place." Her new happy place just might be center stage.

2. THE (BALL)ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS
During her run on Dancing With the Stars, Leavitt showed a flair for musical theater. Early on in the competition, she did a rousing foxtrot to “The Room Where It Happens” from Hamilton. During Wicked Week, she channeled her inner Galinda, quickstepping in pink to “Popular.” After her “Popular” performance, Leavitt revealed that she would “love to be on Broadway” and her DWTS partner (and former Broadway.com vlogger) Mark Ballas suggested she should someday play Roxie. This may not have been the determining factor in her casting, but perhaps the idea struck a chord.

3. POP, SIX, SQUISH, UH UH, CICERO... LEAVITT?
The week before she left the competition, Leavitt donned fishnets and performed “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago, which received the highest scores of the night. (The show notably did not omit the original line," One of those Mormons, you know?") Ballas doubled-down on his past sentiments by taking to Instagram and tagging Chicago’s official account. Shortly thereafter, Chicago’s social media team reposted a video of the performance with the caption “Whitney Leavitt as Roxie when???” and the rest is history.

4.  AND THEY'LL MAKE YOU A STAR!
The Broadway revival of Chicago has cast all sorts of celebrities during its 29-year run. Leavitt is joining the ranks of an eclectic list of performers, including sitcom favorites, country singers and an array of reality TV personalities. Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix made her own transition from DWTS to the Cook County Jail when stepped in as Roxie last year. Though her road to Broadway may be unconventional, Leavitt is a part of a longstanding Chicago casting tradition.

5. THAT'S SHOW BIZ, KID
Earlier this year, Leavitt reacted to critics with a simple bend and snap. First of all, this is the best response to naysayers. More importantly, look at that perfect Legally Blonde choreo! Maybe Chicago is just the beginning for this newly minted Broadway headliner.

@whitneyleavitt

Sometimes you just gotta bend and snap 🤷🏼‍♀️

♬ Easy - Commodores

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