Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Director Kelli Finglass Will Join CHICAGO on Broadway

 

Chicago has announced that Emmy Award Honoree, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Director Kelli Finglass will be delivering Chicago's opening monologue on Saturday, October 3 on Broadway at the 8PM performance. Her appearance falls during the run of DCC alum Reece Weaver, who made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart on September 7, and recently extended her run through November 1.

About Kelli Finglass

Emmy Award honoree Kelli Finglass has led the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders for 35 years, preserving the organization's legacy while advancing its future. In 2026, she received the Sports Governor's Award from the Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for her contributions to sports television, the Texas sports community, and public service.

Kelli first wore the iconic star-spangled uniform in the 1980s and remains the only Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader invited to return for a fifth and final season without auditioning. Her background as a drum major in Lindale, Texas, combined with dance training at TCU and a BBA in International Marketing from the University of North Texas, helped shape her approach to building a world-class organization.

Appointed director at 27, Kelli became an entrepreneur and brand builder, creating programs that expanded performance, visibility, profitability, and community service. These initiatives included the internationally distributed DCC Calendar collection, Youth Cheer & Dance Camps, the Junior Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the annual Cowboys Christmas Extravaganza, elaborate halftime productions, a Mattel-licensed DCC Barbie, an NFL-licensed DCC Teddy Bear, exercise videos, and a one-hour live touring stage show.

Under her leadership, the DCC have appeared in hundreds of television and stage productions, including Saturday Night Live, Oprah, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, as well as live performances with Queen and Dolly Parton. Kelli also secured a place for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Television audiences came to know Kelli through 16 seasons of CMT's Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team and Netflix's Emmy-nominated docuseries America's Sweethearts. Now in its fourth season, the series became a global hit, reaching No. 1 in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Canada. Her quick wit, signature 'Kellisms,' and tough-yet-tender leadership style have made her one of reality television's most respected coaches.

About Chicago

With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is now the #1 longest-running American musical in Broadway history.

The current cast of Chicago features Reece Weaver as Roxie Hart, Lissa deGuzman as Velma Kelly, Max von Essen as Billy Flynn, NaTasha Yvette Williams as Matron 'Mama' Morton, Red Concepción as Amos Hart and J. Workman as Mary Sunshine. The cast also includes Tia Altinay, Ronnie S. Bowman Jr., 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, Angel Reda, Mariah Reives, Sean Samuels, Jeff Sullivan and Elizabeth Yanick.

Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.

Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking, Chicago features set design by Tony Award winner John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Ken Billington, sound design by Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer, casting by DEFINE/Duncan Stewart, CSA and Executive Producer Alecia Parker.