Interview: D. Jerome of THE WIZ at Broadway At The Hobby Center

D. Jerome is coming to Houston to perform in THE WIZ at The Hobby Center! The show opens tonight and runs through May 4th, presented as part of the Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center 2024-2025 Season. He will be playing the Tin-Man. THE WIZ has been reinvented on Broadway, and this is the first tour of this revival or reimagining. D. Jerome is originally from North Carolina and is described as a formidable triple threat; many of his past shows indicate that. Broadway World writer Brett Cullum got to catch up with him, right before he hits the stage as the Tin Man! 

Brett Cullum: I am happy to have you here in Houston! THE WIZ is a cultural phenomenon. I am old enough to remember when it first came out. I was a kid, but I still remember it, and people were just crazy for this musical. Why do you think that THE WIZ is so important? What about this material keeps it going and going and going?

D. Jerome: I could say this, Brett. People love the idea of something that will withstand time. People like legacy. People love remembering what it felt like when there was a demand for this cultural shift. Just to feel the vibration of things changing, almost like a Renaissance. So 50 years ago, THE WIZ came at a time when Black voices, maybe, weren't elevated. People were hungry for a new look, a new culture, a new feeling, a new vibration. And the story of joy and community is what people love to see. And that's why this, the legacy of THE WIZ, is so essential—the music from Charlie Smalls, the choreography, the staging, everything about it. So, yeah, I think people love to see legacy. And then we love to see things be modernized that keep affecting our communities. 

Brett Cullum: What do you think is different about this version of THE WIZ? When you approach it as an artist. What do you see as the thing that makes it unique?

D. Jerome: I've done the WIZ before, and this iteration is so special to me. It's because I was able to use so much of my personal background to infuse into the character. This particular Tin Man has some hip-hop chops, so you know I'm also a dancer. I started at the School of the Arts in North Carolina, and my passion grew there. This Tin Man gets to sing. He has two songs. 

So this production. I love the fact that it's modern and that it can connect with all generations.

Brett Cullum: Well, I always have to ask you this. What's your favorite song in the show? It doesn't have to be yours! 

D. Jerome: You know my favorite song in the show is, “So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard?” I love the song, I keep saying, “I'm gonna add it to my book.” I just want to work with the incomparable Andre DeShields because I love how it sounds! It's the one that I secretly want to do. 

Brett Cullum: Are you familiar with the movie adaptation from 1978? So obviously Nipsey Russell was the Tin Man. Are you doing anything to salute him or give him a shout-out?

D. Jerome: I remember his hands, and how his nails were like real nails [like in a hardware store]. I get my nails painted metallic so I can have a little bit of an inspiration there because I want them to look like broken nails. But during the song, there's a line that I say, “just to think the time I could spend being vulnerable again.” If I'm tapped in enough, I'll fold my hands forward, and I remember a part of Nipsey’s choreography where he had his hands and arms exposed forward. And so that's my ode to him. And then I just love the classic number itself. And so I had to work a little bit to make it a little more modern, because I love the jazz I love, how it sits, and how I love the sheet music. But sometimes we get a chance to make it new. So it's been fun thinking about him during this process.

Brett Cullum: Well, it's very cool because you've got him in your voice a little bit. I can hear Nipsey Russell in there when you speak.

D. Jerome: Yeah, he's a raspy, sultry guy. Yeah, he's raspy. I also resemble Tiger Haynes, who played the tin man on Broadway. So I feel like we're both chocolate skin and high cheekbones. So it's interesting. I'm definitely standing on their shoulders. 

Brett Cullum: Well, speaking of the original cast of THE WIZ, the movie version. In 2022, you were in the original Michael Jackson musical MJ on Broadway! What the heck was that like? Sha’mon!  

D. Jerome: It's been insane. I give all glory to God, and the fact that I put the work and the time into being a part of Mj. That was extremely crazy. I went in for a call. I was working for Amazon when they saw me in an audition dance, and the funny part is this, you know, and if anybody can take anything away from this, if you're in this industry and going to an audition, you know. Don't regret not taking something with you, so make sure if you need jazz shoes or something else, just BRING IT! Half of the battle is preparedness. So I had my jazz shoes, and it was great. I joined the company, and it was just a surreal experience. It was so nostalgic to me. I started in middle school, and my middle school teacher was Miss Grady Smith. She had us dance to the Jackson 5. That was literally one of my very first experiences in dance, and so to join the Broadway cast of MJ The Musical was surreal. I'm working with one of the fiercest artists ever to walk this planet, and I get to go on stage and live my childhood dream. I always used to say my mom could dance for Michael Jackson, because I know I got my dancing ability from her. She was just an incredible dancer from the videos I saw back in the day, and I could never replace that experience.

Brett Cullum: I think every kid wanted to be Michael Jackson. At some point, I learned how to moonwalk! So what’s next for you? What would you love to play?  

D. Jerome: I actually went in for Billy Flynn in CHICAGO. I sent the whole packet in, but haven’t heard anything back. We'll see. It would be amazing to have a young, dark-skinned Billy Flynn with dreadlocks up here, still giving them class, sophistication, and awesomeness. So I'd enjoy doing Billy Flynn.

Brett Cullum: THE WIZ! It's gonna be playing the Hobby Center through May 4th! So we're all super excited about it. I can't tell you how popular Oz is right now between WICKED and everything else. And now this! I am so ready for Houston to see this!