Broadway actress and former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Reece Weaver is living a childhood Broadway dream in CHICAGO, and she says her faith helps keep her grounded as her career changes.
“I think that [my faith is] what keeps me rooted and grounded throughout any surprises life throws,” Weaver reflected in an ABC News interview released Sept. 23.
Weaver made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart at New York’s Ambassador Theatre on Sept. 7, according to the production’s casting announcement. Her engagement originally ran through Oct. 18, but the show’s official website now lists Nov. 1 following an extension.
Viewers got to know Weaver through Netflix’s AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS. In its original cast guide, Netflix shared her account of growing closer to Jesus and crediting her relationship with Christ for where she was in life.
“Growing up, one of my biggest dreams was to do Broadway,” Weaver recalled while speaking with ABC.
Her preparation began long before the television cameras arrived. The official CHICAGO cast biography confirms she earned a dance degree from the University of Alabama, joined the Cowboys cheerleading squad as a 2023 rookie and performed for three seasons.
Related: Why AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS’ Reece Weaver Dances ‘for an Audience of One’
“To be able to be a part of some of the most iconic actors and actresses who have walked through this theater is just such a blessing that I get to be one of them,” she said of her move to Broadway.
The move to Broadway also brings her back toward the dancing she grew up loving. In a June 19 interview with Netflix’s Tudum, Weaver explained that an injury had rekindled her love for dance, including musical theater, jazz and performing onstage.
She told Tudum that she had wrestled with retiring since the beginning of her third year with the Cowboys Cheerleaders. Prayer and counseling helped her reach a decision she described as a leap of faith, even before she knew what would come next.
“I wanted to give someone else that opportunity to fulfill her dream,” she said of her decision to leave the squad.
She described that departure as one of her hardest decisions, but said she wanted to leave with gratitude. Her reflections on the team emphasized what the experience had given her and the encouragement she hoped to offer younger girls.
“I’m just so grateful that I get to be a role model and encourager for other young girls to chase after their dreams,” Weaver reflected.
Weaver also drew a distinction between herself and the character she plays. Discussing Roxie with ABC, she explicitly said she does not condone the actions the character takes to succeed; the interview describes Roxie as an aspiring actress seeking to escape jail after murdering her lover.
Weaver’s Christian testimony should not be confused with an endorsement of that character’s conduct or a family-viewing recommendation for CHICAGO. Her account concerns the faith she brings to her own life and the work involved in pursuing a long-held goal.
So what would she tell her 10-year-old self? “Just to never be afraid of your big dreams.” That’s a good reminder for all of us.
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