Izzy Lachey, ‘24, fell in love with the stage at a very young age. Starting with dance at 3-years-old and theatre at 5, she knew she was born to perform and now, she is taking her talents to a whole new level with professional theatre. 

“I loved doing it right away, [I] loved being on the stage,” Lachey said. “I always knew I wanted to do it in some capacity throughout my life, but I think I really knew when I was 15 or 16. I can’t picture myself doing anything else. This is what I love to do.”

Lachey began her theatre career at WHHS as an Effie, participating in a total of 18 productions by her SENIOR year. 

“I loved ‘The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge’ in seventh grade because it was my first introduction [to theatre at WHHS],” Lachey said. “Everyone was new. We all had a really good time.” 

Along with acting, Lachey also began doing choreography for shows. 

“[I started choreographing in] seventh grade for ‘Xanadu Jr.’ [at WHHS] because there was one number that didn’t end up looking right and the director said, ‘Izzy, you wanna give it a try?’ And I said, ‘Sure.’ And that’s where it began,” Lachey said.

Although Lachey has also acted in all of the SENIOR high productions she’s choreographed for, choreographing for junior high as an upperclassman is a different experience. 

“When I choreograph Junior high it feels more like I’m taking on a leadership role and having some sort of influence on them as they’re going through this process. I wanna be the person who’s helpful and helps them learn, but also helps them grow if they want to continue doing theatre,” Lachey said. 

With her mother Lea Lachey, being an actress and dancer herself and acting as her mentor and teacher, Lachey has come to understand the importance of instructional learning over experiential learning in her own mentorship of the junior high students.

“Doing shows continuously, consistently is great,” Lachey said. “It’s fantastic, but it’s also really important that you take a dance class, take an acting class, do vocal lessons…[because] the industry is shifting a lot more towards strong triple threats.”

Lately, Lachey has stepped into the world of professional theatre, starring in “Label•less,” a new musical created by her parents Drew and Lea Lachey. 

“‘Label•less’ had a bunch of different iterations. We’re on eight now. I joined the second time they did the show when I was 12. For that show, I went and auditioned. I did a dance call…and I had to sing a song,” Lachey said. 

Now, five years later, Lachey, in her own words, has “evolved from just being a featured little girl into being an actual, bigger part of the show.” 

“Label•less” uses popular songs from the 2000s, powerful monologues, and moving dance performances to draw attention to difficult topics in society like racism, bullying, sexism and many others, with the ultimate goal of spreading love and hope. 

“I’ve definitely become more involved in it. The first show I was in a couple of numbers…[Now] I think I’m in 14 out of the 16 numbers, dancing in all of them,” Lachey said. “I’m one of the main dancers in it, which is cool, and I also have one of the sexism spoken words, which means I get to do a monologue on stage about equality and fairness.”

Having made her foray outside of WHHS theatre, Lachey has found some definite contrasts. 

“It’s very different. In professional theatre, you show up the time you’re called, your rehearsal ends the time it’s supposed to end, you get paid for it and overall,… It’s different in the sense that they [professionals] all have the same desire that I do. They’re all putting in the same amount of effort,” Lachey said.

“Label•less” began as a series of Cincinnati shows in the summer of 2023 at Playhouse In The Park, transitioning to a national tour in the fall, performing in places from Wichita, KS. to NYC. Most recently, the cast has recorded and released a live album and performed at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) showcase on Jan.15 on Theatre Row in NYC. 

Outside of the amazing opportunities, the community Lachey found through “Label•less” was one of the most valuable parts of her experience. 

“For me, it’s amazing to be surrounded by a group of people that I can really be myself in. They’re all just super accepting,” Lachey said. “It was so incredible to me that after 2 weeks, I had formed such a tight-knit bond with this group. And I hope that I can keep that throughout the rest of my life.”

To Lachey, “Label•less” is not only a jumping-off point in her career but a show that she cherishes. 

“I hope that it can be a stepping stone, and also, I just hope it blows up. I hope that it’s a show that everyone gets to see. I hope that I get to remain with the project for as long as they’ll have me.”

As of right now, Lachey has her eyes set on a few goals for the future. 

“Right now, my definition of success would be working in a job that I love, whether that be on Broadway, in a regional theater or on a film set, and have enough money to live in New York comfortably,” Lachey said. 

As an actress, she has one specific goal for her career. 

“I want to tell a story and make people feel things,” Lachey said. “I feel like seeing other people conveying certain emotions can bring up stuff in you and I want to be that person for other people.”

While artists often shy away from the idea of failure, Lachey uses it as motivation to press forward.

“Theatre is not a steady gig. It’s definitely a career of passion. And so honestly, what keeps me going through the fear of failure and not being good enough is my desire to do it,” Lachey said. “I’ll say, ‘I can do it. I can prove you wrong, and I’m gonna do it, and I’m gonna be successful’…In theatre, people say you’ll get 100 ‘no-s’ for one ‘yes’. So, it’s just ‘keep pushing through the ‘no-s’ until you get your ‘yes’.’”