By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Ballas is returning to Broadway in “Chicago” and the “Dancing with the Stars” pro will be reuniting with an old friend.
Ballas, playing slippery lawyer Billy Flynn starting April 6, will share the stage with his Roxie, Whitney Leavitt, the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star who was his dancing partner on “Dancing with the Stars” last year.
“I think it’s going to be so fun. We work so well together,” says Ballas, a three-time Mirrorball Trophy winner who has who has done stints on Broadway before in “Jersey Boys” and “Kinky Boots.” “I never thought I’d be surprised by things that come from the show, but here we are.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: You were originally a theater kid, right?
BALLAS: Yeah, I started when I was 11 at the Italia Conti Academy of Theater Arts in the U.K. They have a high school portion and a college portion. So I did the high school for five years and then I did college for three years. Musical theater and music were my majors.
AP: How did you start your career?
BALLAS: I grew up in England, so I was out there auditioning for West End shows. This is actually a wild, full-circle moment: One of the first shows I auditioned for was “Chicago” in the West End. I got right down to the end. I was only 18, still paying my dues, trying to figure it out. So this is super full circle.
AP: You didn’t get it back then?
BALLAS: No. I went in for the ensemble. I got right down to the end. I think I had like four or five callbacks and in the end, I was too short. I was joking with them. I was like, “You know, my height was on the resume!”
AP: The stars seemed to aligning when you and Whitney performed “Cell Block Tango” from “Chicago” on “Dancing with the Stars.”
BALLAS: We did “Cell Block Tango” because we had to pick a song that a previous couple had danced to. “Dancing with the Stars” has a bit of strategy to it and you want to have your banger numbers at the right time. So when I saw the list of music, “Cell Block Tango” was on that list. We just picked that song and it’s all very serendipitous. The next week, Whitney was going to audition.
AP: Now you’re together again, this time on Broadway.
BALLAS: I had been in talks with “Chicago” on and off over the years. The timing just didn’t really work out. Whitney booked the gig and then I sent in tapes, went in for my audition and that tango happened, Whitney went in for it and then they were interested in having me. So it just like it was meant to be, you know.
AP: You were in New York recently to get ready?
BALLAS: I’ve already learned the show. I’m ready to go. I went and watched it every night. That’s part of my learning process. Like when I did “Jersey Boys,” I did the same thing. When I did “Kinky Boots,” I did same thing. I’ll go have my rehearsals — I take my little notepad — and then I’ll watch what I rehearsed and see it on its feet. I think that’s probably the dancer in me.
AP: Do you have a long history with “Chicago?”
BALLAS: I love this musical. I grew up learning this music. Going into the rehearsal, I knew these songs backwards. Over my lifetime, I’ve probably seen the stage show 30-plus times. When I think of iconic, classic theater, I think of “Chicago,” I think of “Les Misérables,” I think of “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
AP: What’s it like to join the longest-running American musical in Broadway history?
BALLAS: To be a part of that legacy and to step into this character that’s held so much weight for so many years — and had iconic people like Usher, Patrick Swayze play this role — is very cool.
AP: It also has dancing inspired by the great Bob Fosse. As a dancer, how do you view him?
BALLAS: When someone asks me, “Who is your favorite dancer or choreographer of all time?” I would say Bob Fosse. I’m always trying to have my stuff look so clean, that my partner and I are doing the same things at the same time, and that concaved, kind of tortured style. I love that.
AP: Is it true you were an extra in some of the “Harry Potter” movies? How did that happen?
BALLAS: Because you needed so many kids to be extras, they used all the theater schools for kids that were interested in film and theater and acting. So they hired all those kids to be the extras. I was an extra in the first three.
AP: Can we spot you?
BALLAS: I was kind of in my awkward, emo phase, and I had a mouth full of braces and like spiky, Linkin Park hair. The one time I was about to be on full view — I think we were playing wizard chess — they moved me out the shot. But you can like see me lurking in the back if you’re very, very quick.