Wise was born in Pocatello, Idaho, and grew up near Spokane, Washington, living briefly in Provo, Utah.
[1] Although a life-trained dancer, Wise first became seriously interested in dance as a career while studying to become an accountant at the University of Idaho at Moscow.
[2] He performed with the Joffrey II, then moved into musical theater in the early 1980s after auditioning for A Chorus Line "as a dare more than anything.
"[1] Wise won the Tony Award in 1989 in the category of Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in the dance revue Jerome Robbins' Broadway.
In that revue, Wise played multiple roles, including "Riff" in West Side Story and "Chip" in On the Town.