INTERVIEW: Kyle Ramar Freeman sees the impact of ‘The Wiz’ eight times a week
Photo: The Wiz features, from left, Kyle Ramar Freeman, Nichelle Lewis, Phillip Johnson Richardson and Avery Wilson. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Daniel / Provided by DKC O&M with permission.
NEW YORK — When actor Kyle Ramar Freeman auditioned for the role of Lion in the Broadway-bound revival of The Wiz, he knew the musical was beloved, but each night when meeting fans outside the stage door in Midtown Manhattan, he is reminded of the profound impact that this show still has for audience members. The musical, which continues its limited engagement through Aug. 18 at the Marquis Theatre, tells the story of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Lion and Tinman with an all Black cast and songs that became musical theater staples 50 years ago.
The original production premiered in Baltimore five decades ago, and its success took the show to Broadway and then a hugely influential film in 1978 starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross. Now the musical is back, having started this revival’s national tour in Baltimore, where it all began in the mid-1970s, and then making its way to Midtown Manhattan.
Freeman, an alum of A Strange Loop on Broadway and London’s West End, has been there every step of the way for this multi-year journey. “It’s been so exciting,” Freeman said of his time in the show. “It’s been going well. It has been a great summer. A lot of fun things have happened.”
Approximately two years ago Freeman heard about auditions for the revival, and he told his agent he’d love to get in the room with the creative team. The director for the show is Schele Williams, with choreography by JaQuel Knight and music supervision / arrangements by Joseph Joubert. The original book is by William F. Brown and the music / lyrics are by Charlie Smalls, with Amber Ruffin providing additional material for this production.
“I saw some of the creative team just out and about in Midtown, and that made me think,” he said. “It’s actually happening. They’re holding auditions. I reached out to my agent. I said, ‘Hey, can you get me in the room?’ And then he did, and two auditions later I was in The Wiz.”
To carve out his character of Lion, Freeman decided to be a kid in a sandbox. He took inspiration from Ross’ interpretation of the role in the movie, and then he relied on the script to send him in the right direction. “I just kind of played until I found something that was solid that I wanted to root the character in, but ultimately he’s a big goofball,” said Freeman, who is joined on stage by Nichelle Lewis (Dorothy), Alan Mingo Jr. (The Wiz), Deborah Cox (Glinda), Melody A. Betts (Aunt Em / Evillene), Phillip Johnson Richardson (Tinman) and Avery Wilson (Scarecrow). “He’s a fun character to play, so everything is right there on the page. I just did what was on the page and expanded that — times 100.”
Freeman added: “You go from thinking that you don’t have something to finding out that you had it all along, and that’s the beautiful arc of the Lion. And I got to play the Lion when I was in middle school. It was actually the first role I ever played, so to play the Lion now as a person who accepts who they are in the world, just as Kyle, their sexuality, it’s kind of a beautiful thing to display that on stage. But he has a full arc. I like to say that it’s like living in the wild, surviving on your own, although your family was already courageous. So to then find a community of people who accept you for who you are, and then you do the scary things with the people that you trust, it’s also the beautiful thing about this show that I get to explore with this character. So, yeah, I’m happy that other kids will get to see what I’ve done and the version that we have and be inspired by that.”
Freeman said he is obsessed with the iconic music of The Wiz. He finds himself singing the tunes all the time, even when he’s not performing in the show eight times per week. At this point, he said the songs, including “Ease on Down the Road” and “Home,” are embedded in his brain.
“These melodies are so beautifully written,” he said. “The songs are profound. ‘Home’ is a classic; it’s a staple of musical theater, and it just rings true to the experience. And also it’s very Black, so that’s a plus, too, especially in the musical theater space. I think other shows are used to sounding a certain way, a certain standard, but this show just kept the musical theater elements but also incorporating African American culture and how we sound and emote with the music. So I think that’s what the audience takes home the most is that type of joy that the music has.”
To create this revival, the cast and creative team had to build from the ground up. They wanted to honor the original production, but they wanted to make something new at the same time. Freeman said that Williams, as a director, was extremely open to ideas and interpretations of the material.
“Schele was really great at letting us do what we felt naturally at first, and that’s a big plus when you’re trying to collaborate and trying to create theater,” he said. “You can explore and have fun and do what your natural instinct is, so she allowed that freedom, which let us have fun. And some of the things that we did in those moments we kept in the show, so I thank her for that because a lot of directors, especially with a revival, you have an idea and a vision, and you don’t want anybody to mess with that. But she allowed us to get dirty and kind of do what we wanted and incorporate that and shape it into what ultimately her vision was for it.”
And now Freeman has the pleasure and honor to perform in this landmark show in the middle of Times Square. The profundity of this experience is not lost on him. “People have brought their aunts and their nieces and nephews, and shared stories about how The Wiz was the first show that they saw, how it’s always been in their family, how they wanted to pass it down to somebody younger in their family,” Freeman said. “And I see the impact it has when people tell me stories like that.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Wiz, featuring Kyle Ramar Freeman, continues through Aug. 18 at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
