DWTS Partners Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas Are Officially Reuniting on Broadway
Three-time Broadway performer Mark Ballas will step into the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago this spring, two decades after being turned down for a spot in the show’s ensemble.
He’ll share the stage at the Ambassador Theatre in New York City with Whitney Leavitt, his former Dancing with the Stars partner, who continues an already twice-extended run as Roxie Hart.
The four-week limited engagement runs April 6 through May 3.
From a West End Rejection to a Broadway Headline
Ballas’s connection to Chicago stretches back to the beginning of his career. In an Instagram announcement posted March 10, he described the booking as a “full-circle moment” and laid out the story behind it.
“One of the first shows I auditioned for after graduating musical theatre college was for the ensemble of Chicago in the West End in London. After many callbacks, and making it to the final call, I didn’t end up booking the gig,” he wrote.
“I was 19 years old, new to the industry, learning how to pay my dues, accept rejection, and be told no. Twenty years later, I’m making my return to Broadway as Billy Flynn. This will now be my 3rd Broadway show that I have had the pleasure to be a part of,” he added.
The distance between those two moments — ensemble audition at 19, headlining the Broadway company as the silver-tongued defense attorney Billy Flynn — covers a lot of ground.
The role demands charisma, vocal chops, and sharp comedic timing, all deployed within one of the most cynical satires in the musical theater canon.
“Hard work, persistence, dedication to the craft, and relentlessness really do pay off. Thank you to my musical theatre teachers for instilling this in me, and for the years of tough love,” Ballas continued.
Three Broadway Credits (and Counting)
Ballas’s stage résumé runs deeper than audiences who know him primarily as a three-time Mirrorball champion on Dancing with the Stars might expect.
He made his Broadway debut as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, a production that closed in January 2017. The Valli role is one of the most vocally demanding leads in contemporary musical theater, built around the iconic falsetto of the Four Seasons frontman.
He returned to Broadway in 2018 with a run in Kinky Boots, a show that required a distinctly different skill set.
Chicago marks his third Broadway production and his first time performing in one of the longest-running musicals in American theater history.
Whitney Leavitt’s Roxie Hart Run Extended Again
Leavitt made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago on February 2.
Known for her role on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and as Ballas’s partner on Dancing with the Stars Season 34, she was originally scheduled to wrap her run on March 15.
High audience demand pushed that date to April 5. Now it’s been extended a second time through May 3, which means she and Ballas will overlap for the full duration of his limited engagement.
Leavitt announced the news on Instagram on March 10.
“This secret was way too hard to keep! The incredible @markballas & I will be performing TOGETHER in @chicagomusical April 6-May3rd! Can’t wait to perform on stage together again,” she wrote.
The pairing brings them back together after DWTS Season 34 in 2025, where they were eliminated during the semifinals on Nov. 18, finishing in sixth place.
The casting news lands during a notable stretch for Chicago itself.
The musical holds the distinction of being the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, and the current revival will celebrate its 30th anniversary this November.
Tickets and Key Details
Here’s what theatergoers need to know about the limited engagement:
- Mark Ballas as Billy Flynn and Whitney Leavitt as Roxie Hart
- A four-week run in the Broadway production of Chicago
- April 6 through May 3
- The Ambassador Theatre, New York City
- Tickets are now on sale through Telecharge
Fans of the DWTS partnership who want to see these two performers reunite inside one of Broadway’s most celebrated musicals have a limited opportunity to do so.
For Chicago, it’s another chapter in a revival now approaching three decades on Broadway.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
