Chicago Extends Reality-Star Casting Strategy with Netflix Cheerleader Reece Weaver as Roxie Hart
Reece Weaver, known for her role in Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, will portray Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre until October 18. Since the mid-1990s, producer Barry Weissler has enlisted various celebrities, including Brooke Shields and Usher. The show has also featured reality television personalities like Jinkx Monsoon and Whitney Leavitt, whose portrayal of Roxie achieved impressive box office results. According to associate producer Brett England, the musical's premise aligns well with celebrity casting. Weaver, a dance graduate from the University of Alabama, commends Ann Reinking's choreography. England emphasizes the importance of star power and commitment, as Roxie was originally designed for Gwen Verdon. Future roles may attract contestants from Dancing With the Stars and figures from Bollywood or K-pop.
Key facts
- Reece Weaver, from Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, plays Roxie Hart in Chicago through October 18.
- Chicago has run at Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre for 23 years, making it the longest-running current Broadway show and longest-running American musical.
- Producer Barry Weissler began celebrity casting in the mid-1990s with a Grease revival featuring Brooke Shields, John Stamos, and Rosie O’Donnell.
- Previous Chicago cast members include Brandy, Usher, Ashlee Simpson, Pamela Anderson, Melanie Griffith, Sofia Vergara, Jinkx Monsoon, and Whitney Leavitt.
- Whitney Leavitt’s casting as Roxie yielded the highest grosses in the show’s history.
- Weaver graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in dance and attended a performing arts high school.
- The current Chicago choreography is by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse.
- Associate producer Brett England says future casting may consider Dancing With the Stars contestants and Bollywood or K-pop performers.
Entities
Artists
- Reece Weaver
- Lissa deGuzman
- Brandy
- Usher
- Ashlee Simpson
- Pamela Anderson
- Melanie Griffith
- Sofia Vergara
- Jinkx Monsoon
- Whitney Leavitt
- Ariana Madix
- Barry Weissler
- Fran Weissler
- Brett England
- John Kander
- Fred Ebb
- Gwen Verdon
- Ann Reinking
- Bob Fosse
- Brooke Shields
- John Stamos
- Rosie O’Donnell
- Connie Francis
- Bobby Darin
- Tom Morello
- Megan Thee Stallion
- Abigail Barlow
- Dylan Mulvaney
Institutions
- Chicago
- Ambassador Theatre
- Netflix
- America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
- Bravo
- RuPaul’s Drag Race
- The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
- Vanderpump Rules
- Just in Time
- University of Alabama
- Dancing With the Stars
- Billboard
- Grease
- Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
- Broadway
- Moulin Rouge! The Musical
- Six The Musical
Locations
- Broadway
- New York City
- United States
- Chicago
- New York