There’s No Place Like Now: Dana Cimone Brings 'The Wiz' to Tampa Bay

By Avery Anderson

When Dana Cimone steps onstage and sings, “When I think of home, I think of a place where there’s love overflowing,” she closes her eyes every single night.

“Every time,” she said. “Because I’m digging deep. Sometimes it’s the same thing I’m thinking of; sometimes it’s something new that I had forgotten about from my past. It helps me tell the story even more.”

That story—of courage, belonging, and joy—takes center stage this week as The Wiz lands at the Straz Center, part of its national tour after the recent Broadway revival. For Cimone, who grew up in Atlanta and idolized Michael Jackson and Stephanie Mills, it’s a full-circle moment decades in the making. “Home used to be a part of my audition book for the past five years,” she said. “So when it came to singing Home in the audition room, I was like—I know that song like the back of my hand.”

Cimone first auditioned for The Wiz during its pre-Broadway run but didn’t get the part. Months later, she received a surprise email: the creative team wanted her to audition again—this time not as an understudy, but as Dorothy herself. “It was a dream come true,” she said. “I always told myself I knew I was going to be a part of this show some way, somehow.”

Now she’s living that dream city to city, inspiring what she calls “different generations all finding this version so incredible and beautiful.” Her first standing ovation came after singing Home. “Once the curtain came down, I cried,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how well you sing it—it’s how well you tell that story.”

But this Wiz isn’t nostalgia; it’s reclamation. Directed by Schele Williams, the production reframes the Oz myth through the lens of Black culture—song, dance, and joy as acts of resilience. “It’s still the iconic story,” Cimone said. “But this version exhibits African American culture in song and dance and story. It’s all about a young Black girl on this journey on her own, and what she can take from it—which ties to being an African American woman in real life.”

That connection between story and society isn’t lost on her. Touring across America at a time when conversations about race, identity, and belonging dominate headlines, Cimone sees The Wiz as a beacon. “The whole purpose of this show and us as actors is to bring joy and heart to the stage,” she said. “There are people in the audience who feel like they don’t want another day—and they come see this show and we bring them something inspiring. They see Black joy.”

That joy, she says, is never performed. “What we put out on the stage every night is always authentic and real. When we feel, you feel.”

When asked what she hopes audiences walk away with, Cimone doesn’t hesitate: “Hope. In this time, hope and faith have kind of disappeared. After seeing this show, I want people to feel that there is still good and love out there—and that you can take bits of the story and use it in your life.”

As for Cimone, her own journey mirrors Dorothy’s more than she ever expected: lost at first, then finding courage, clarity, and home in the people who walk beside her.

🎟️ If You Go

The Wiz 📍 Straz Center for the Performing Arts 📅 October 14-19, 2025 🎫 Tickets at strazcenter.org