Start spreading the news, Whitney Leavitt is officially heading to Broadway after competing on Dancing With the Stars season 34.
News broke on Monday, December 1, that Leavitt, 32, is joining the cast of Chicago for a six-week run as Roxie Hart next year. She begins her slate of performances February 2 and will continue through March 15.
Leavitt previously hinted at her move to the Broadway stage during a recent appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast with DWTS partner Mark Ballas.
“There’s two things I’ll tease,” the reality star said on the Wednesday, November 26, podcast. “One, I did just book my first movie, which is really exciting.”
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Leavitt said that the second piece of news would get its official announcement the following week. “What I can say is that a dance that Mark and I performed to on Dancing With the Stars is going to come to life,” she hinted. “And everyone’s gonna know on Monday.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star and Ballas, 39, were eliminated just before the finale of DWTS in one of the most shocking votes of the season. Throughout the competition, Leavitt and Ballas stunned viewers and the judges alike with their precision and creativity — particularly with their Argentine tango to Chicago‘s iconic “Cell Block Tango” during week 9.
Leavitt isn’t the first DWTS alum to take the stage as Roxie Hart. Ariana Madix landed the Broadway role in 2024 after competing on season 32 with pro Pasha Pashkov. (The Vanderpump Rules alum finished her DWTS run in third place.)
Before being sent home from the DWTS ballroom, Leavitt faced criticism online for her prior dance experience. Some fans also made claims that the ABC show demonstrated favoritism toward Ballas.
The duo candidly addressed all the internet chatter during their “Call Her Daddy” episode.
“I think with the intensity of the show and how big it’s gotten — which I love so much — everybody’s been getting backlash online,” Ballas said. “It wasn’t just us. Yes, ours was very intense, but when something’s this big, I’m sure as you know, there’s always going to be naysayers. There’s always going to be people hating on you. I think there was just like a window of weeks where it was just, like, goddamn.”
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Ballas said the commentary was “relentless” throughout the show, but Leavitt acknowledged that she’d become “desensitized” to the hateful rhetoric from her time on Mormon Wives.
“I’ve experienced it for years,” she added. “But I think, like, what was a little bit triggering was watching someone experience that for the first time for something, for what? Like, it just it made no sense to me. And then, I also at times felt like it was my fault because I was like, ‘Oh, like, maybe … it’s because of me, maybe it’s because [Mark is] partnered with me.’ So then, it felt like my fault. Like, it was just like a roller-coaster of emotions like during that time.”
Despite being a frontrunner throughout most of the season, Leavitt — who admitted she only appeared on season 3 of Mormon Wives for a shot at DWTS — hinted that she knew she wasn’t going to walk away with the mirrorball trophy.
“I never thought I was winning Dancing With the Stars. I really didn’t … But I wanted that experience,” she said. “And I would hope that anyone that had a dream or something that they want in their life or [to] experience … would go after it.”
