Mormon Wives Star Whitney Leavitt Reaches for New Heights as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway

“We have something in common,” says Whitney Leavitt of Roxie Hart, the merry murderess at the center of Broadway’s Chicago. “Although I may not agree morally with how she goes about getting what she wants, she knows what she wants and I can relate with that. I'm a very determined, hardworking individual and I'm not afraid to express what I want to go after, which I think can be very daunting for some people, but that's just something that has always been a part of me. I also think that's how Roxie is. She's not afraid to be like, ‘Well, yeah, I want that. Well, yeah, I did that.'"

Leavitt will be making her Broadway debut as Roxie in a six-week engagement beginning February 2, through March 15. The millennial mom of three gained notoriety on Hulu’s reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives before competing on the most recent season of Dancing With the Stars. In a conversation with Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek, Leavitt discussed her unconventional journey to the Cook County Jail.

“I grew up dancing, acting, the whole shebang,” says Leavitt. “I was always in an ensemble. I never had strong enough vocals or even the confidence to even go after those [lead] roles.” Theater may not have been the immediate path for the media personality, but it was never far from her mind. “Just the other day, somebody tagged me in a TikTok that I had made probably five years ago. In the caption it says, ‘Fun fact, I used to dream about being on Broadway,’ because it was to a song from Fiddler on the Roof or something. Somebody tagged me in that and I'm just like, that is crazy, because I never thought it would actually be a reality. It's been such go, go, go in my life lately that I feel like I haven't had the chance to really sit back and be like, ‘Wow, this is actually happening.'”

Outside of her Dancing With the Stars stint, Leavitt grew up dancing competitively and received a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a dance emphasis from Brigham Young University. However, the Chicago choreography has proved itself to be a whole different ballgame. “I'm so used to dancing really big and loud,” explains Leavitt. “It's still big and loud, but it's energy that's contained. I've been really enjoying figuring that out and watching other people do it as well. It's actually been a bit challenging for me, because I want to go even bigger, but they’re like, ‘Well, the energy is there, but you show that energy in the movement.'”

Through its depiction of fame, press manipulation and true crime fascination, Chicago has become one the preeminent satires of celebrity culture. This lends the show a certain meta-quality for a figure like Leavitt, who has had to contend with the surreality of becoming a public figure. “I went and saw Kate [Baldwin—Leavitt's predeccesor in the role of Roxie]. I've been trailing her. Leaving the show, people will come up to me and tell me about things where I'm like, 'Oh, you know that about me,'” says Leavitt. “When you're being filmed, you don't see all the people, all the individuals watching the show.”

Chicago is housed right across the street from the chipper, doorbell-ringing Book of Mormon boys. How does Leavitt feel about sharing the block with a show that spoofs her community? “I saw it in London and it was fabulous. I loved it. Loved every minute of it. I feel like we need to do something. We can't not do something together of us being right across the street from each other. So, maybe a collaboration in the future.”

In the meantime, you can see Leavitt paint the town at the Ambassador Theatre beginning February 2.

Watch the full video below!

Get tickets to Chicago!