For the last five years “Home” has been the go-to song that Dana Cimone performs in auditions. So the opportunity to get to star as Dorothy in The Wiz was both something she wanted but also something she felt was solidly in her wheelhouse.
“It’s uplifting. It gives you a valuable lesson in different ways,” she said. “Most shows are straight at your face.— this is why you need to be brave and this is why you need to stand up for yourself. When you come see The Wiz you’ll relax; you’re so involved in the story. You want to know what to and how to get better. And then you take everything that you’ve seen from our show and you put that into your day-to-day lifestyle,” she says.
“‘Home’ is one of those songs where you are reminded of the little things that make you who you are. The little things that you have forgotten about because it seems not worth it to you. But when you go back and you think about it you’re overwhelmed with love and emotions.”
The Wiz is, of course, a two-act reimagining of the classic Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It began as a musical on Broadway in 1974 which led to the movie released in 1978. Despite generally negative reviews and the criticism that Diana Ross was too old to play Dorothy, the firm featured a galaxy of stars, also including Michael Jackson, Nipsy Russell, Lena Horner and Richard Pryor.
The musical won seven Tony awards including Best Musical. Its popular song “Ease on Down the Road,” (as they follow the Yellow Brick Road) was released as a single and made the Billboard Soul Singles chart. The version of the musical Houston audiences will see is part of a Broadway revival production. All the favorite characters are there — the good and bad witches, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Lion as well as the Wizard himself as Dorothy travels from her home in Kansas and is whisked away to a magic land.
The North American tour is a big step for Cimone who says previously she has only done high school and middle school shows. She grew up singing in church. In third grade she ended up playing Mowgli in The Jungle Book and at that point knew she wanted to do theater. Based in Atlanta, she describes herself as “a Georgia Peach.”
Describing her character Cimone says: “Dorothy is very open-minded and just in awe of everything and has a really strong connection with the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. They really do become family.”
Asked if there was anything else she wanted to say, Cimone says: I do just want to put emphasis on Black students in the arts especially high school students. Really in high schools now these days theater is slowly starting to drift away and the shows that are being done in most of these high schools are not very inclusive. A lot of young Black high school students don’t get opportunities to shine and the best idea I did when I was in high school was I looked up what kind of training and conservatories are out there so I could get the best out of my high school years. I found a conservatory [City Springs Theatre Conservatory in Sandy Springs, GA] which was the best decision of my life. It allows Black artists to shine. “
Performances are scheduled for April 29 to May 4 at 7:30 Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. and and 7 p.m. Sunday at Broadway at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-315-7625 or visit thehobbycenter.org or broadwayatthehobbycenter.com. $40-$160.
