One of the outings I’m most excited for this February is seeing the Broadway tour of The Wiz at The Paramount Theatre with my parents. My folks and I love seeing live performances together and this show is packed with SO many songs we’ve loved since I was a kid.
The Wiz won SEVEN Tonys in 1975 including Best Musical and Best Original Score. In the updated revival, we get the gift of additional writing by Tony-nom / Emmy-nom writer/comedian Amber Ruffin (The Amber Ruffin Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers). She’s terrific and I’m excited to see how she’s helped adapt the script for modern-day audiences. I heard a rumor that her revisions update a character’s motivations, adding emotional depth and an emphasis on community. I applaud all the folks who were involved in making updates happen. I hope this inspires future Broadway revivals of other productions to do some contemporizing as appropriate, too.
And oh heyyyy, the choreographer of this Broadway tour is JaQuel Knight who also did choreography for a huge star-studded list of music videos, including Pink, Miley, and Beyonce. (You probably can picture some of the dancing in Beyonce’s iconic “Single Ladies?” That’s JaQuel Knight’s choreography)! WHAT. Y’all, they are making it real hard for me to keep my expectations as low as I like to keep them when seeing any live musical.
I read that the original Broadway production’s full title was The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical “Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” In addition to “super soul,” the music also is inspired by “gospel, rock, and 70s funk.”
One of my favorite songs in the show is “Slide Some Oil to Me,” so you can imagine my delight when I had the chance to interview actor D. Jerome, who plays The Tin Man in this touring production:
QUESTION: If someone is picking ONE show to see in Seattle this Fall, why is The Wiz the one to pick?
D. JEROME: They should come see The Wiz because it’s celebrating its 50th Year! And the singing is OUT of this WORLD!
Q: I can’t wait. What’s a memorable moment from a rehearsal or recent performance?
D.JEROME: The first rehearsal where I heard Kyla Jade as Aunt Em sing “The feeling we once had,” I knew that we were about to do something special.
Q: What’s a fun challenge about playing your role in The Wiz?
D.JEROME: One of the great challenges of being a musical theater artist is doing all of the skills at once. Singing, dancing and acting. It’s thrilling but also very scary.
Q: Describe your character using six emojis.
D. JEROME: 🦾 🕺🏾🎭🎶♥️🤞🏾
Q: Describe using six emojis.
D. JEROME: ✨🦾🪄🌪️🎭🎶
Q: How do you imagine an audience member feeling as they head out after the show?
D. JEROME: Honestly, I hope they feel challenged to look at their life to see if they are emulating one of Love, courage, and the hope for a world where we all belong.
Q: Ok, that’s beautiful. And empowering. I love I get to witness the show with that concept in my heart now. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us!
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Check out this instagram video, where D.Jerome answers another interviewer’s question“What is home to D. Jerome?”
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Let me know if it’s your first time seeing the show or if you’ve seen it before in other iterations!
The Broadway production ofThe Wiz plays The Paramount Theatre in downtown Seattle for just a few short days, February 10 – 15, 2026 before it heads to El Paso, Texas, Cincinnati, Ohio, and other spots across the country! Tickets here.
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(A note to my Portland readers: The Wiz plays Keller Auditorium February 3 – 8, 2026 before it comes up to Seattle!)
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