The Wiz
The dazzling Tony Winning musical returns with a brand new staging for the 21st century!
Why see The Wiz?
Coming to an Emerald City Near You!
The seven-time Tony-winning hit, "The Wiz," is back with a brand new tour the first in 40 years! The soul, gospel, funk, and R&B-fused reimagining of Frank L. Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" is taking to the road on the second leg of its tour in a brand new production directed by Schele Williams, presenting William F. Brown and Charlie Smalls' vibrant musical for the 21st century. With additional material by Amber Ruffin and choreography by Jaquel Knight, join Dorothy, Toto, Tinman, Scarecrow, and Lion as they boogie down the Yellow Brick Road in search of heart, knowledge, courage, and home!
What Is The Story Of The Wiz?
It's the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but not quite as you know it. Written by Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown, The Wiz reimagines the story of Dorothy and Co. with an entirely African-American cast and a score infused with infectious gospel and soul. The show's best-known numbers are 'Be the Lion' and 'Ease on Down the Road'.
Originally debuting on Broadway in 1975, The Wiz won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and was later adapted into the cult movie of the same, which starred Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
Key Information
Run Time
Two hours and 20 minutes with one interval
Dates
Finished Jan 14
Cast
- Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy
- Alan Mingo Jr as The Wiz (selected dates)
- Wayne Brady as The Wiz (selected dates)
- Deborah Cox as Glinda
- Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em/ Evillene
- Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion
- Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tinman
- Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow
Further cast
Maya Bowles, Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Jay Copeland, Allyson Kaye Daniel, Judith Franklin, Michael Samarie George, Collin Heyward, Amber Jackson, Olivia Jackson, Christina Jones, Polanco Jones, Kolby Kindle, Mariah Lyttle, Kareen Marsh, Anthony Murphy, Cristina Rae, Matthew Sims Jr, Avilon Trust Tate and Keenan D. Washington.
Creative
Book by William F. Brown
Music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls
Additional material Amber Ruffin
Directed by Schele Williams
Choreographed by JaQuel Knigh
Music supervision, orchestrations, & music arrangement by Joseph Joubert
Reviews
Customer reviews
26 reviews, average rating: (4.0 Stars)
Linda Holden
Excellent
My daughter blessed me for Mother’s Day with tickets and hotel stay in New York. The play was Excellent! Culturally Correct version of the Wiz. The choreography and costumes were mesmerizing. The performances by the actors were delightfully uplifting. I am still singing ease on down the road ... Read more
Emerald City
Ease on Down
In our family watching The Wiz with Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Lena Horne & Nipsey Russell was simply a pure joy. So when I was invited to see The Wiz musical I was so excited to listen to all my favorite songs live. The Wiz musical didn’t disappoint. The vocals were powerful from all, including but not limited to The Scarecrow, The Lion, The Tinman, Evillene, Glinda the Good witch, All the witches, and The Wiz all blew me away. However, one had a pair of larger shoes to fill that may have been a little too big for her. The character Dorothy was previously played by Stephanie Mills on Broadway & then played by Diana Ross in the movie version of The Wiz. In The Wiz on 5th Ave Theatre the role of Dorothy deserved to be played by someone who could sing with the same power like The Scarecrow, The Lion & The Tinman or Glinda. And here is where The Wiz simply fell short. Dorothy, while a beautiful vocalist, when singing those big songs like Home left me wanting so much more. ... Read more
Jayski
Exceeded my expectations.
I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew the original musical, which this is based off (NOT the movie, thank goodness) in the mid 1970's won Tony's and was well received. The Movie was not very good and very different from the original musical. The stage version follows the story as we all really know it. The movie changes the story and location quite a bit and is more of a film showcasing New York City in the 70's. Anyhow, back to this awesome musical I just saw in Charlotte on Nov. 7, 2023. It was immediately announced the part of Dorthy would be the understudy (found out later that Nichelle Lewis was ill, hope to see her in NYC). The show is full of energy, great sets and colors. Loved how they did the contrast in gray from Kansas to Oz and how the tornado was done. The timing and blocking was done quite well. Costumes were amazing. I tried to listen to the movie and TV musical recordings and couldn't get through them BUT the music in person and how it was done at this show had me fully engaged and if they put out a soundtrack, I will be getting it. The orchestra/band was just perfect. ... Read more
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