She is best known for her work as Jessica on the NBC American musical theatre dramedy television series Smash. She is also known for her work on Broadway as Evelyn Nesbit in the 2009 revival of Ragtime, originating the role of Waitress #1, then going on to replace as Sherrie in Rock of Ages, and as Young Cosette in the original Broadway production of Les Misérables.
On January 27, 2011, it was announced that Wise would be playing the lead role of Wanda Clark in the new off-Broadway musical, Lucky Guy. The show opened on May 19, 2011. Originally set for a 12-week limited engagement, the show closed ten days after its opening on May 29, 2011. An original cast recording was announced and planned, but never came into fruition. Development for Smash began in 2009 at Showtime by then-Showtime entertainment President Robert Greenblatt and Steven Spielberg, from an idea by Spielberg, who had been working on the concept for years. Naturally, buzz began early in the Broadway community. Wise originally went in to audition for a series regular role, ultimately not fitting the part. The producers liked her audition, and she went back in to audition for a different role, and after one quick audition, she had landed the then-very small role of Jessica, a member of the ensemble in the Marilyn Monroe musical, Bombshell. After landing the role, it was expanded from a small guest appearance to a much larger recurring role. Wise appeared as Jessica in 29 out of 32 episodes. The show was cancelled after two seasons on May 11, 2013.
