Mark Ballas and Eddie Cooper Take First Bows in CHICAGO; Plus Talkback With Derek Hough

Three-time “Dancing With The Stars” champion Mark Ballas recently made his return to Chicago as “Billy Flynn”, beginning performances on July 20. Broadway favorite Eddie Cooper also took his first bow as “Amos Hart” the same evening. Six-time “Dancing With The Stars” champion and Emmy Award winner Derek Hough delivered the opening monologue of the show in celebration of his best friend’s return to the show, and also joined Ballas for a post-show talkback. Check out photos of Ballas and Cooper’s first bows, and the talkback with Hough, below!

Watch video of Ballas taking his first bows, and Hough delivering the opening monologue here.

Mark Ballas returns as Billy Flynn for a four-week limited engagement through August 16, after his run in Chicago earlier this year. 

Chicago features a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The current cast of Chicago also includes Rachel Schur as Roxie Hart, Sophie Carmen-Jones as Velma Kelly, Nik Walker as Billy Flynn, Jacqueline B. Arnold as Matron “Mama” Morton, and J. Workman as Mary Sunshine. The cast also includes Tia Altinay, Nicole Benoit, Zach Bravo, Austin Dunn, John Michael Fiumara, Danielle Marie Gonzalez, Chelsea James, Christopher Kelley, James T. Lane, Jenny Laroche, Marty Lawson, Joseph London, Kristen Faith Oei, Denny Paschall, Mariah Reives, Sean Samuels, Samantha Sturm, Jeff Sullivan.

Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.