The name on everybody’s lips is gonna be… Whitney. As of February 2026, Whitney Leavitt is lighting up Broadway as Roxie Hart in Chicago.
The breakout star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives made her debut at the Ambassador Theatre on February 2 for a limited run of just six weeks through March 15. And to say Leavitt is already making good on her character’s promise to “say she started with a bang!” is something of an understatement, with fans flocking to New York from all over the country to see the Utah native command the stage. The long-running musical has even released a capsule collection dedicated to Whitney’s stint as Broadway’s most infamous murderess.
Of course, taking a bow on Broadway feels like a far cry from the reality star’s former life as a Mormon housewife and stay-at-home mom in the valleys of Utah. But her drive to perform is something Leavitt sees as having in common with her Chicago character.
“She’s very ambitious — when she wants something, she seeks it,” she tells Ticketmaster of Roxie’s cunning personality. “Like, I don’t love how she went about it, but she’s very motivated to get what she wants and, you know, I admire that.”
She may be best known for stirring up trouble on her hit Hulu reality series — which kicks off its much-hyped fourth season March 12 as she winds down her time in Chicago — but Leavitt certainly has the goods to call herself a Broadway leading lady. Years before she found fame with the rest of MomTok, the 32-year-old earned a BFA in dance from Brigham Young University — a pedigree that helped her all the way to a semifinal finish on the recently completed 34th season of Dancing with the Stars.
Now, she’s traded ballroom for Fosse and belting out famous tunes like “Funny Honey,” “We Both Reached For the Gun,” “Nowadays” and, of course “Roxie” eight times a week, following in the footsteps of other famous Roxies like Erika Jayne, Ariana Madix, Lisa Rinna, Pamela Anderson, Ashlee Simpson, Brandy, Michelle Williams and Mel B.
“I feel so privileged and so grateful that I get to go onstage and… entertain,” Leavitt says. “In my eyes, it’s one of the greatest jobs anyone could ever have.”
And considering most of her fellow Secret Lives of Mormon Wives castmates were in the audience for her opening night, a rather irresistible question comes to mind during our conversation — who’s actually more dangerous: the merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail or the citizens of MomTok?
“Oh, god. More dangerous?” Leavitt asks with an incredulous laugh. “I mean, hello, the women that murdered men? Absolutely them!”
Below, Leavitt opens up exclusively to Ticketmaster about playing the role of her life in Chicago. Plus, she dishes on how DWTS prepared her for Broadway, dream casts the rest of MomTok in an unforgettable version of “Cell Block Tango” (R.I.P., Ezekiel Young from Salt Lake City) and finds out mid-interview (!) that she’s gracing the latest cover of New York Magazine as part of pop culture’s “New Mormon Moment.”
Congratulations on your debut! How has your time as Roxie been so far?
Thank you! If you’re in New York, you need to come see the show! It’s been incredible. The cast is just insanely talented, insanely welcoming. The audiences have been… it’s just so crazy, [it’s] almost like they’re a part of the experience! Like, they amp you up and you’re like, “We’re in this together!”
Roxie Hart is obviously such an iconic character, but every actress who steps into her shoes plays her a bit differently. How would you describe your version of Roxie?
Well, she’s someone who’s not afraid to say what she wants. She’s very ambitious — when she wants something, she seeks it. And I think sometimes that can have a negative connotation to it, but she doesn’t care. [Laughs] That’s what she wants! She’s very impulsive with her emotions. She tries to manage them, but she just can’t help herself. Yeah, she’s a very motivated person! Like, I don’t love how she went about it, but she’s very motivated to get what she wants and, you know, I admire that.
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Roxie makes a very famous entrance at the top of the show. What’s it like being way up on that ladder every night?
Oh, wow. You know, the first night I did it, I had to ask my husband, “Could you tell I was shaking so much?” ‘Cause I was just so nervous. But you prop your leg up in a passé, so you really only have one leg on the ladder and the other one’s leaning against the wall. And I could feel my leg shaking so much, I was so nervous that first night. And it’s been interesting to see every night I’ve done the show, that leg just slowly continues to settle in. [Laughs] But it’s fun! I love that I can’t see the audience up there — because the lights are just so blinding — because I think if I could see them, that would terrify me even more.
Tell me about Roxie’s big monologue that you perform during her titular song. Erika Jayne, who also played Roxie last year, said that was a pretty special moment to deliver every night.
It is. You know, it’s funny: in the beginning, I would rush through the monologue. This was before I started performing, this was during rehearsals. And I would rush through the monologue to get it over with because it’s nerve-wracking — it’s just me and the audience, and I’m playing off of the audience. We had a rehearsal with [Chicago director] Walter Bobbie and it was so intimidating… he had me up on stage and the whole cast was in the audience. We were going through the monologue and so many times, he’d stop me in the middle of it and be like, “Slow down. Take your time.” And at one point, I just made a joke and was like, “Oh, I know, I just want to get it over with, because it’s so scary to me!” And he was like, “Great. Then say that you’re scared. Say that you’re scared and do the thing.”
And it was weird, like, I think when you state the emotion, it becomes less daunting. And now it’s just a moment for me to play and it’s so fun. Every night it’s a little bit different because the line is delivered differently, just naturally. Or the audience finds something more funny and I can play off that. It’s such a fun time for Roxie because in that moment, to me, that’s when people see Roxie’s personality the most on stage.
What’s it like performing the song “Roxie”?
Oh, again, it’s just so fun! It’s the moment that I think that people are like, “Oh, this is Roxie.” This is when people are falling in love with her because… in that whole song, to me, she’s sharing this dream that she has. “I want my name to be on everybody’s lips, I want people to recognize my boobs, even my nose! Just seeing a picture of that, they’re gonna know that that’s Roxie’s nose!” She’s sharing her dream, and I love sharing my dream with the world, too, so I can relate with her on that.
You had just finished your incredible run on Dancing with the Stars when Broadway came calling. How did that experience help prepare you for Chicago?
Well, Dancing with the Stars is very demanding, physically. It’s about four to five hours of rehearsal a day. And Chicago had that same amount of time, I would go to rehearsal every day about four to five hours. So Dancing with the Stars definitely prepped me in that aspect. But in my eyes, it’s even more grueling, because not only am I dancing, I’m also singing and I’m acting. And I’m memorizing cues and being more present in moments, and having to work not just with one other person now, but with a whole cast.
But it’s been fun! I’ve really enjoyed pushing myself. And the instructors and the directors and the coaches that are a part of that crew, wow. They really know how to teach and they’re very good at personalizing it to an individual. Because, you know, they’ve had so many people play Roxie, they’re used to this turnover. I’ve really appreciated them being patient with me and working with me and figuring out, “OK, well how does this work for Whitney?”
Some fans may not realize you actually have a BFA in Dance. With that background, what was it like learning all of the iconic Bob Fosse choreography in the show?
Oh, I loved that. I mean, dancing has been my whole life. So at the very end, when me and Sophie [Carmen-Jones] get to do “Hot Honey Rag,” I think it just ends with a bang. Because I’m like, “Here we go! Now I get to, like, really, really dance!” Yeah, it’s great.
And now that you’re doing it eight shows a week, what is the key to nailing Fosse?
Oh wow. The secret to nailing Fosse is it’s movement that is controlled internally, whereas a lot of dance movement is very external and it’s loud and it’s big. Fosse has that same energy, but it’s more contained. Which has been hard for me because the way that I dance is very, like, loud and big and bam!
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OK so I have to ask, who do you think is more dangerous: the merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail or the rest of MomTok?
Oh, god. More dangerous? I mean, hello, the women that murdered men? Absolutely them!
Here’s a fun little idea: If the rest of MomTok was in the show with you, who would you cast in “Cell Block Tango”?
That would be so fun to, like, do some sort of video clip with all of them and each one of them is one of the characters! I mean, yeah, all of them would be great! One thousand percent.
Mostly I’m just curious which of your fellow Mormon Wives you think would murder Ezekiel Young from Salt Lake City… one of those Mormons, you know?
Oh, Taylor [Frankie Paul], for sure. One thousand percent. One thousand percent Taylor.
You recently met up with Dylan Mulvaney, who’s also making her Broadway debut this month in SIX. How was that? Did you give her any tips for her own opening night?
Yes! I love her, I love her so much. I won’t be there for her opening night, but I’ll be there for her second night. Which is kind of cool, ’cause she was there for my second show, too.
The best tip that I could give her was just enjoy the moment. Like, you’re gonna feel nervous, you’re gonna feel scared, you’re gonna feel excited, you’re gonna feel sad. You’re gonna feel like, “What the f–k is happening?” You’re gonna feel so many emotions, but just feel them and don’t try to fight it. Just be present in every emotion that you’re feeling, and just go out there and play! I feel so privileged and so grateful that I get to go onstage and just play and entertain. In my eyes, it’s one of the greatest jobs anyone could ever have.
@dylanmulvaney Roxie meets Anne Boleyn 👯♀️❤️ @Whitney Leavitt
Season 4 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives premieres March 12, when you’ll just be finishing up your run as Roxie. What can you tease about your journey this season on the show?
Yes! I think it’s gonna be really cool to get some BTS of when I was on Dancing with the Stars. You know, people don’t usually get to see that a lot on other platforms. There’s gonna be a lot of crossover of worlds, which I think is always fun to see. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know everything that they’re gonna show, but I hope that you get to see a lot of the BTS of that experience of [fellow Mormon Wives star] Jen [Affleck] and I being on Dancing with the Stars.
I also have to mention that, as we are speaking, you are literally on the cover of New York Magazine.
Well, to be honest with you, I didn’t even know I was on the cover of New York Magazine, so I’m Googling it right now! It’s New York Magazine? Like, what is it?
It’s a cover story they’re coining the “New Mormon Moment” with, like you and Taylor Frankie Paul and Heather Gay…
OK, I found it. Oh! So cute! Oh, I love that! Wow, that’s so cute. OK, so we’ve got [DWTS pro] Witney [Carson], we’ve got [Ballerina Farm influencer] Hannah [Neeleman]. We’ve got [Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star] Heather [Gay]… OK, cool!
What did you make of the media and the public having this newfound fascination with Utah and Mormon culture?
I mean, we’ve got another Broadway show about it, so I think we just keep hyping it up! I’d be curious to see how the numbers have spiked in joining the Mormon church since all of this stuff has come out! [Laughs] You know, it’s interesting, people find it fascinating. And I find it fascinating that people find it fascinating because that’s what I’ve known, that’s how I was raised. So I don’t really know much different, but people find it very polarizing and then you have these women who are so motivated and I love it.
God, I love it so much because all of these women that you see in this photo, traditionally, I can guarantee we were all raised that the woman stays at home and takes care of the babies and the man goes out and provides for the family financially. But each woman in this photo either owns a business or is creating a business, has their own personal brand. It’s very inspiring, I love looking at it. I’m looking at each individual and seeing them venture out in all their business endeavors, it’s really cool.
As part of this larger whole, what do you want your contribution or your place to be in this new so-called “Mormon Moment”?
Well… I don’t necessarily think it’s a “Mormon moment” for me. For me, I’ve had so many people come up to me who are moms and are like, “Oh, I just loved watching you go after what you want while still being a mom.” Or people come up to me and say, “I finally started this business! Because you did it, so why can’t I?” And I want everyone to have that mindset. Even I see people in the media, or who are achieving dreams that I want to achieve, it’s like, “Well, if they can do it, why can’t I?” So I don’t think it necessarily has anything to do with being Mormon and more so just being a mom who happens to be a Mormon, who also has very big dreams.
Chicago tickets are available on Ticketmaster.