CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-native Phillip Johnson Richardson performed in Piedmont Middle School’s production of “The Wiz” as a student 14 years ago. Now, he’s starring in “The Wiz,” this time as the Tin Man, on the Broadway stage.
Writer Amber Ruffin’s reimagining of the hit musical embarked on a national tour earlier this year and will debut on Broadway in 2024. The show’s stop in the Queen City runs through Sunday, Nov. 12. WCNC Charlotte caught up with Richardson in Piedmont’s auditorium, where his musical theatre journey began.
“This is the first place I sang in front of people, ever, for my audition for “The Wiz” in seventh grade, so it's really weird to be here,” Richardson said while sitting on the stage.
Humble beginnings
The morning after the show’s opening night at the Belk Theater, Richardson was asked to drop off his younger sisters at Piedmont, where they both currently attend. He said being back where it all started was a surreal feeling.
“The auditorium is, like, the same, too,” Richardson said. “I tell the story all the time about the fact that I did ‘The Wiz’ at Piedmont, and now I'm back [performing] in Charlotte. When I first booked the show, I was telling everybody, like, ‘Yeah, I'm actually going to tour at home.’ And everybody was so excited like, ‘Remember, you did The Wiz back in seventh grade?’ I'm excited that I get to be here. It's just a full circle moment.”
Richardson said he wasn’t interested in theatre prior to his experience at Piedmont, though he loved “The Wiz.” He recalled he and his mom would watch the 1978 film over and over again when he was young. Then he arrived at Piedmont and found out about the school’s production. It was his mom who pushed him to audition.
Richardson’s former drama teacher, Bernadette MacLeod, reminisced on his willingness to jump in where she needed him to without question.
“I put everybody who came out [for auditions] into the show,” she said. “So, when he was in ‘The Wiz,’ I think that he played a munchkin. He was just really so kind and lovely. And the group of friends that he had was also really kind and lovely, and just fun to be around. Great performers.”
Richardson’s family, including his mom, sisters and grandmother, still live in Charlotte. He said being able to perform in front of them is the most rewarding part of this tour stop.
“My mom doesn't get to see every show because she has to take care of my sisters,” he said. “For her to see me doing something in my hometown in a theater where we saw ‘The Lion King’ when I was 8 years old, it really touches my heart.”
On the big stage
Prior to starring in “The Wiz,” Richardson landed a role in the Chicago production of “Hamilton”, as well as a role in Apple TV shows “Sharper” and “Little Voice.”. But auditioning for “The Wiz” would become one of his biggest challenges yet.
Lead producer of “The Wiz” Brian Moreland said casting for the show took nearly six months, and his team saw nearly 4,000 auditions, including over 200 for the role of the Tin Man.
“It happened to be a very easy choice to move towards Phillip simply because he was so open already,” Moreland said. “The Tin Man is a character that is about his heart and the absence of a heart. To have an actor like Philip who is so emotionally available and so ready, and so kind and innocent and vulnerable. As a human, it doesn't lend itself to the role of the Tin Man, which is why we selected him.”
PHOTOS: Phillip Johnson Richardson and the cast of "The Wiz"
Now standing centerstage, Richardson looks back at his trajectory knowing he is exactly where he is supposed to be.
“As an actor, you have all these moments where you like, ‘Oh, I think this could be it,’ and I've had a lot of those where I'm like, ‘Oh, this could be it. This is the moment I'm about to blow up,’” he said. “But this one feels like it's coming to fruition and people are really excited about it.”
MacLeod said she’s delighted to see so many of her students, including Richardson, shine in the world of musical theatre.
“It was really exciting to see that he was in this show,” she said. “When you're a theatre teacher, and you get to see your students excel at this, it's so exciting because you know how much work it is. It's so much work. And I think I've been seeing his progression since he graduated from college. I think probably just watching as he kept taking more and more steps into being a professional actor, it's exciting.”
Paying it forward
Now that he’s made it to Broadway, one of Richardson's biggest goals is to be an inspiration to other young, Black actors looking to take on the big stage. He said “The Wiz” is the perfect place to do that.
“When the original production of ‘The Wiz’ premiered on Broadway in the 70s, there had never been a show like it,” he said. “The fact that we get to sing the way we sing as Black people on stage, and we get to do it every night, we get to show people like, ‘Hey, there's not just one way to sing on Broadway,’ and there's not the whole struggle thing about seeing Black people on stage struggling all the time. It's really beautiful.”
Post-Wiz tour, Richardson said he hopes to continue to grow as a performer, eventually landing a role on the big screen.
“I really have my heart set on theatre, it's where my heart is just where my home is, but I've always wanted to do film,” he said. “I didn't even I didn't know what's possible, and now that I've done a lot of things that I didn't know were possible, I'm like, ‘OK, I can do that too.’”
On Friday, following Richardson’s performance at the Belk Theater, he’ll do a set for his hometown at The Evening Muse in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood. The show begins at 10:30 p.m., and tickets start at $12. Find more information about the show here.
"The Wiz" hits the Marquis Theatre in New York on Friday, March 29, 2024. Buy your tickets here.
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