Stephanie Mills, Original Dorothy in The Wiz, to Join Broadway's Hadestown as Hermes

Stephanie Mills, best known for her performance as Dorothy in the original 1975 production of The Wiz, will return to Broadway as Hermes in the Tony-winning musical Hadestown. She replaces current cast member Jon Jon Briones, who plays his final performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre on June 30. Mills is set to begin performances on July 2 alongside fellow new cast members Yola as Persephone (replacing Ani DiFranco) and Maia Reficco as Eurydice (replacing Isa Briones). 

Mills made her Broadway debut at age nine, performing in the musical Maggie Flynn. Following her star-making performance in The Wiz (currently enjoying a revival production at the Marquis Theatre), Mills continued her career as a solo vocalist, releasing the disco album What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin' in 1979, her first gold record. Her subsequent albums include Sweet Sensation (1980), Stephanie (1981), Tantalizingly Hot (1982), Merciless (1983), I've Got the Cure (1984), Stephanie Mills (1985), If I Were Your Woman (1987), Home (1989), Something Real (1992), Personal Inspirations (1994) and Born for This! (2004) In 1989, she performed her concert, Stephanie Mills Comes "Home" to Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. 

“After nearly 50 years in the entertainment business, which is all I’ve ever known, every fiber of my professional being I owe to the discipline of my Broadway training as a child at the beginning of my career,” said Mills in a statement. “The joy of life’s full circle moment for me is returning to my roots—only this time as Hermes in Hadestown. Power!”

In addition to departing cast members Ani DiFranco, Jon Jon Briones and Isa Briones, the cast of Hadestown currently features  Jordan Fisher as Orpheus, Phillip Boykin as Hades and Jessie Shelton, Kay Trinidad and Brit West as the Fates. 

Hadestown is the winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, the show features a Tony-nominated book and Tony-winning score by Anaïs Mitchell and Tony-winning direction by Rachel Chavkin.