Ambitiously, Mickey Vermeer (28) moved from the small village of Berkel-Enschot to the big city of Amsterdam as a budding musical actress. “All the rehearsals were in the Amsterdam area. I was young, my work was there, so it made sense to relocate.” She performed in the musical productions Evita (2018), Aïda in Concert (2019), and Kinky Boots (2019). Now she is back in her old, familiar village and shines with her first real leading role as Dorothy in the family musical The Wiz.

“For The Wiz, singer and musical actor Darren van der Lek forwarded me the audition call, as he thought the role of Dorothy suited me. We had previously worked together in the productions Aïda in Concert and in Aladdin. During Aladdin, I had the role of a fortune teller in the ensemble, and he played the parrot Iago. From the beginning, he said, ‘I don’t understand why you don’t have the role of Jasmine. You sing so beautifully and you have such a lovely & open presence.'

“When Darren sent me a message about the auditions for The Wiz, I happened to be in Canada with my boyfriend. I really wanted to audition, but I couldn’t just suddenly return to the Netherlands. Van Hoorne Studios then adjusted their schedule, allowing me to audition live on the last day. After the audition, I received a phone call that same evening with the good news that I could come back the next day for the final rounds, and that’s when I got the role. It all happened so quickly.”

“Home can connect you to literally a house where you live, sleep, and eat. But as a person, you can also move. In the end, you feel at home when you are yourself and when you stand behind yourself. I feel at home when I’m with my boyfriend or when I’m with my parents. It just feels familiar.”