When Wilson Jermaine Heredia auditioned for Jonathan Larson's Rent, 1996's Tony-winning Best Musical, he was a seasoned modern dancer with parts in two Off-Broadway shows. When he got the role of his lifetime, being a cross-country runner since high school prepared him for the demanding physical exertion. However, nothing prepared him for his Broadway debut in the season's hottest property, or the acclaim for his portrayal of Angel, the street musician and drag queen dying of AIDS.
The media spotlight was overwhelming. "I was riding the wave and accepting everything for what it was," said Heredia, 24. "We were working like dogs, doing appearances, photo shoots, anything to promote the show. After we opened, we began rehearsing for and recording the cast album (now available on Geffen Records). Everything was going so fast, there was no time to react."
After a month, he was able to step back and breathe. "One night I broke down crying to a friend, purging of emotions I hadn't been able to express. That was my therapy. I said, 'Good. I have it out now.'" Then came the Tonys, where he caused quite a stir dressed head to toe in black vinyl. The highlight of the awards, other than his incredulity at winning, was "being in the presence of actors I admired and thought I'd never meet, and their seeing me as an equal. It was especially nice to literally bump into Liza."
In July, when she saw Rent, Minnelli visited backstage. "I was thrilled when we talked. That day my Tony came from being engraved, so I shared it with her. She said, 'In ten years, this Tony will fall apart. It's only spit and vinegar. What matters is the work. That's what you're left with.' It was a lot to think about."
Heredia comes from Brooklyn and a Dominican family. He was different, and from an early age, he admitted, "I never fit the mold. "I wasn't exactly a macho guy," he admits. "Quite the opposite. I was terrible at sports, but I enjoyed running. It was the best thing I could do. Run away. But I never won anything. In fact, I was mediocre."
Throughout high school, he said, he was bored. "My mind would always fly, but not on matters of school work." He found his solace in sketching, which had fascinated him since age three, dance, singing, and, following in the footsteps of his father, playing the guitar (later he added composing and choreography). In spite of his track team efforts, he says he was treated like an outcast. Until now, Heredia didn't find family support -- financial or otherwise -- for his goals. "Mine weren't theirs." His father, a buildings chief superintendent, and mother, a clothing factory worker, aspired to his becoming a doctor -- the furthest thing from his mind. When he entered Hunter College as a theater major, he worked odd jobs to manage dance classes, which along with his guitar playing "was my route to self expression. I became a jack of all trades in the arts but master of none."
In college, "mind over matter" helped him conquer his childhood asthma. "I found a lot of stamina," said Heredia, "and when I started running for myself, my time got faster and faster." Which prepared him for behind-the-scenes at Rent. "Once the show starts, I go pretty well non-stop. I have some quick changes. The fastest is 33 seconds right after the song 'Happy New Year,' where I'm dressed as drag queen Pussy Galore. As I come off, they strip me, remove my wig, make-up (eye shadow, heavy lipstick, false eyelashes, and blush), and get me ready to go right back out," a nightly reminder of Liza's words, It's the work."
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