Ones to Watch: Nichelle Lewis, The Wiz's Dorothy, Is Living Her Childhood Dreams

You never know who might be watching you on TikTok.

Nichelle Lewis started posting videos to the platform in late 2022, sharing her soaring, expressive vocal performances and dance moves (as well as playing a cartoon character-themed round of F*ck, Marry, Kill). In one video, posted in early 2023, she sang a deeply felt rendition of “Home,” from the musical The Wiz, pouring emotion into lyrics about the importance of self-belief: “I’ve learned that we must look inside our hearts to find a world full of love…”

When casting agents working for a new production of The Wiz stumbled upon Lewis’ videos, they invited her to audition. Lewis had performed in the national tour of Hairspray and had a stint on American Idol, but at the time, she was working at Crate & Barrel. In the end, Lewis was selected—out of some 2,000 hopefuls—for the role of Dorothy.

A joyous, all-Black take on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz launched its national tour in September 2023 at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre. Much like in the story, of course, the show's ultimate destination is a glittering city filled with possibility: New York. The revival begins previews at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre on March 29, with an official opening set for April 17.

“I don't even have the correct words for that,” Lewis told Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek on The Broadway Show, seeing herself and her co-stars on the digital signage outside the theater for the first time. “I never imagined being in such an amazing, amazing situation.”

Watch Nichelle Lewis with Paul Wontorek on The Broadway Show.

The original, seven-time Tony Award-winning 1975 Broadway production of The Wiz catapulted relative newcomer Stephanie Mills to stardom. Diana Ross took over the role in the 1978 cult-classic film adaptation directed by Sidney Lumet.

Those are some big slippers to fill. But then, Lewis has always been an ambitious performer. When she was eight years old, living in small-town Virginia, she would put on regular dance shows for her family. “I would get all my friends together and I’d be like, ‘Come on, we have to do the show!’” Around that time, she also drew up a list of her life ambitions, a list of “exactly what I wanted to do at what time I wanted to do it.” Singing was right up there.

When she was 10, Lewis sang a solo tribute at her father’s memorial service, moving the congregation to tears. Painful as that time was, it was the beginning of her journey as a performer, she said. “I feel like that moment really helped me to know, OK, this is going to help me get through my life. This is going to be healing for me. And it seemed like it healed other people too. I think that's really how it all started.”

She added, “There's just something that happens when something deep happens like that in your life. It kind of fuels your soul.” Lewis’ mother was also a source of endless support. “She saw my determination and she saw me latch onto music. She was like, ‘OK, this is what you want. You have to do it, and you have to be willing to do it and just go for it—and I'm going to be there for you.’” (Lewis’ mom has seen The Wiz five or six times now.)

Back in the ’70s, Ross desperately petitioned to play Dorothy on the big screen. She had loved The Wiz on Broadway—she saw it twice—and recognized something of herself in the character and her quest. “I absolutely believed in Dorothy and in her search to find who she is,” she says in J. Randy Taraborelli's Diana Ross: A Biography. “[I]t seemed so very parallel to who I am.”

Lewis sees herself in Dorothy, too—something that has helped her ground her performance in authentic human feeling. In particular, she has drawn on the feelings of insecurity and unmooredness that nagged at her as a teenager. “I feel like it takes Dorothy a second to really understand what's going on in her life,” she said, “to really be able to open up to everyone that she's meeting and this whole new world that she's having to cope with. I can relate to that and I feel like other people can relate to that. That was something I really wanted to pull from myself and put into the show.”

And now, to borrow words that Lewis sings in the show, she’s standing strong and tall—and ready for Broadway. “I feel like I have learned a lot about myself and others and the world of musical theater," she said. "It’s fun, it’s hard, it’s tiring—but you love it. You wouldn't want to do anything else.” It’s also not lost on her that eight-year-old Nichelle’s dreams have come true. “I wanted to be able to sing and inspire people. And now I'm Dorothy, which is wild—because I feel like she does that the whole show.”

GET TO KNOW THE ONES TO WATCH
Left to Right: NICHELLE LEWIS (The Wiz) | ALI LOUIS BOURZGUI (The Who's Tommy) | JOY WOODS (The Notebook) | BRODY GRANT (The Outsiders) | SHAINA TAUB (Suffs)

Watch the full episode of The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal highlighting all six of these rising Broadway talents. Also: Flip through the complete gallery of photos from our exclusive Broadway.com photo shoot.

The Broadway Show Credits: Directed by Zack R. Smith | Producers: Paul Wontorek and Beth Stevens | Senior Producers: Caitlin Moynihan and Lindsey Sullivan | Videographers: Born in Brooklyn, Shaun Copeland, Luis Ferrá, Eddie Lebron, Anton Ponomarev, Nick Shakra and Tyler Ward  Photo Credits: Photography by Emilio Madrid | Photo Assistants: Alan Padilla and Cooper Hammel | Location: Corner Studio. Styling Credits: Styling: Eliza Yerry | Hair: Monique Gaffney | Make-up: Angella Valentine and Eldo Ray Estes | Brody Grant: Black Tank: Abercrombie & Fitch; White Tank: Sunspel; Pants: Mavi; Shoes: Gola; Jewelry: Title of Work | Joy Woods: Dress: A.Potts; Shoes: Gianvito Rossi; Jewelry: Jenny Bird | Ali Louis Bourzgui: Top: Acne; Pants: Diesel; Shoes: Nike; Jewelry: Title of Work | Shaina Taub: Jumpsuit: Miss Selfridge; Shoes: New Balance; Jewelry: Jenny Bird | Nichelle Lewis: Jacket: Khy; Bodysuit: Wolford; Skirt: ASOS; Shoes: RAID