He went from waiting tables in Concord to starring in ‘The Wiz’ and bound for Broadway
This past summer, the actor Phillip Johnson Richardson found himself back home, again, living in Charlotte and waiting tables at a Concord pizza joint.
Everyone treated him well at Afton Pub & Pizza. Still, Richardson yearned to be on a stage somewhere. “I love my hometown,” he said, “but obviously that (job) was not what I wanted to do.”
Just a few months later, he’s doing just what he wanted to do. Richardson won the plumb role of Tinman in the high-profile, pre-Broadway national tour revival of “The Wiz.” The popular Charlie Smalls musical is an updated take on “The Wizard of Oz,” told through the lens of Black culture and an all-Black cast.
Richardson, a 27-year-old graduate of Charlotte’s Northwest School of the Arts and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, already had sampled success. Soon after graduating from college in 2018, he landed in the Chicago cast of “Hamilton” as an ensemble member who occasionally played the title role.
Other acting gigs followed until the pandemic shut everything down. Richardson spent part of 2021 in Charlotte before leaving for New York, then driving cross-country with his dog for a show out west. An injury forced him to bow out of another production and return to Charlotte this past January.
Now he’s headed back here as one of the stars of “The Wiz.” The musical launched its national tour in September, and arrives in Charlotte next week at Belk Theater before it’ll “ease on down the road” to Broadway in the spring.
In a recent interview with The Charlotte Observer, Richardson spoke of his unorthodox audition, the anticipation of his Broadway debut and his eagerness to perform his own music at The Evening Muse while he’s in town.
“I’ve been very fortunate, very blessed to experience everything I’ve experienced,” Richardson said. “It’s been a crazy ride.”
Meeting ‘The Wiz’
This isn’t Richardson’s first go-round with The Wiz.” He was an ensemble member in his Piedmont Middle School production of the show. It was his first musical.
And why not? “The Wiz” has long been a hit. After opening on Broadway in 1975 as the “super soul musical,” it won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show was later adapted into a movie whose all-star cast included Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as Scarecrow, Lena Horne as Glinda and Richard Pryor as the wizard.
Growing up, Richardson and his mom would often watch the movie together. She also was the one who encouraged him to try out for the show at Piedmont.
When he got to Northwest, Richardson felt certain he wanted to be an actor. He also was in the 2012 cast of the first high school production of “The Color Purple,” which inspired a documentary about the school’s show.
Richardson remains close with former Northwest theater teacher Corey Mitchell, who has had an impact on numerous students, including other Broadway luminaries like singer/actress Reneé Rapp and two-time Tony nominee Eva Noblezada.
In fact, Mitchell would be on hand when Richardson received a momentous phone call.
Not your typical theater audition
Auditioning for Broadway shows often involves a number of tryouts and — if you’re lucky — a series of callbacks.
Not for Richardson. Turns out he knew the director, a producer and the casting director of “The Wiz” from previous projects. Richardson asked if he could audition during final callbacks, since flights out of Charlotte were expensive and they knew what he could do. So that’s what happened.
He flew to New York and auditioned over a single weekend. He said he butchered the first tryout, singing in the morning after a late flight the night before. But the next day, during a dance audition where he also sang, he said he killed it.
Back in Charlotte a little over a week later, Richardson was in touch with Mitchell, his former high school teacher. He had retired from Northwest and launched the Theater Gap Initiative, a college prep nonprofit that works to give more students of color an opportunity to succeed in theater.
Richardson was with Mitchell when he got the call that he booked “The Wiz.” He swore Mitchell to secrecy about the big news. “I never expected any of this to happen,” Richardson said.
He quickly bonded with others in the cast, especially the ones he spends the most time with on stage: Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Kyle Ramar Freeman as Lion and Avery Wilson as Scarecrow.
Richardson’s performance is already attracting attention. In its review, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer called Richardson “the standout” among Dorothy’s friends, noting, “He plays Tinman as this sort of curious yet intriguing mix of Bobby Darin and Usher.”
To Richardson, one of the most exciting aspects of performing in “The Wiz” is knowing he’s part of a resurgence of Black theater, especially in a musical he grew up watching.
“To come to the stage door and see a bunch of faces that look like me — a bunch of little kids who are staring at me like, ‘Oh, my God, you were on stage’ — I can’t really express how much it means to me, and how much it means that I get to be a part of this revival.”
There’s no place like home
When Charlotte was booked as a stop for the pre-Broadway tour, Richardson immediately began calling his family and friends.
They’ll all be at Belk Theater for opening night cheering him on. He’s also looking forward to Cook Out and Bojangles, and staying at his grandmom’s house in the Sugar Creek area for the week.
One more thing: Richardson finally will have the time to put together a show featuring his own music. Next week, he’ll perform at The Evening Muse alongside some longtime friends in a show called “Phil. n’ Friends.”
What’s next for Phillip Johnson Richardson
Another big date for Richardson is April 17, 2024 — opening night on Broadway for “The Wiz.”
Richardson has performed in New York before, just not on Broadway. In March, he was in the Jerry Herman musical “Dear World” with Donna Murphy Off-Broadway at New York City Center. Among other projects, he briefly worked on the boxing movie, “Day of the Fight,” starring Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci and Michael Pitt.
Looking back, he said, “Hamilton” helped launch his career and opened doors for him. Being a lead in “The Wiz” elevates him even more.
He also hopes that all the attention from the theater increases opportunities for him in film and TV. “I don’t want to call it my big break because I don’t want to put that much pressure on it,” Richardson said. “But this is like kind of a really big deal.”
How to see ‘The Wiz’
When: Nov. 7-12.
Where: Blumenthal Performing Arts’ Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St., Charlotte.
Tickets: blumenthalarts.org/events.
How to see ‘Phil. n’ Friends’ concert
When: Nov. 10 at 10:30 p.m.; doors open at 10 p.m.
Where: The Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St., Charlotte.
With: Phillip Johnson Richardson, Demeanor, Luci, Little Town and host Kyle Freeman.
TIckets: eveningmuse.com.
More arts coverage
Want to see more stories like this? Sign up here for our free “Inside Charlotte Arts” newsletter: charlotteobserver.com/newsletters. You can join our Facebook group, “Inside Charlotte Arts,” by going here: facebook.com/groups/insidecharlottearts. And all of our Fall Arts Guide 2023 stories are here: charlotteobserver.com/topics/charlotte-fall-arts-guide
