This year, The Wiz celebrates its 50th birthday; the show opened January 5, 1975, at the Majestic Theatre. And what better way to celebrate than with a new national tour? Before the national tour eases on down the road, Playbill's Jeffrey Vizcaíno caught up with the tour cast and asked them what the show meant to them. Watch their answers in the video above.
This new tour arrives fresh from the show's Broadway run (and accompanying pre-Broadway tour). For Alan Mingo, Jr., who played the title role on Broadway and on this new tour, it's been moving to see how The Wiz continues to resonate with audiences. “It’s multigenerational," he says. "At the stagedoor, the grandmother would say, 'I brought my daughter.' And she would come back and say, 'I brought my kids or my nieces and nephews.' They all wanted to tell you about their connection to the show.”
The cast of the tour also includes Dana Cimone as Dorothy, Sheherazade as Glinda, Kyla Jade as Aunt Em and Evilene, D. Jerome as the Tinman, Mykal Kilgore as the Lion, and Elijah Ahmad Lewis as the Scarecrow.
Director Schele Williams says the show's message of family, found and chosen, is what's contributed to its staying power, saying: “Finding your tribe, the people who are quirky like you, and that come to love you for who you are and support you and encourage you—the themes of this show have been around for 100 years."
The show is choreographed by JaQuel Knight. This new version of The Wiz features a revised book by Amber Ruffin, working from the original book by William F. Brown, and a score by Charlie Smalls. On Broadway, it was a regular high earner at the box office, making over $1 million every week.
The company also includes Maati Kheprimeni Angaza, Sai Anthony, Joseph Armon Boyd, Aliyah Caldwell, Lawrence Dandridge, Cyniah Elise, Amitria Fanae’, Kaiyla Gross, Gregory Hamilton, Maya Imani, Jesse Jones, Cal Mitchell, Moriah Perry, Leon Ray, Ephraim Takyi, Josh Walker, Lyn Webber, Kameren Whigham, Mikayla White, and Chase Williams.
The Wiz first premiered on Broadway in 1975, transforming L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel into an all-Black "super soul musical," as it was originally billed. The musical made the jump to the big screen in 1978 with a film adaptation starring Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson, and, reprising his Broadway performance as the Cowardly Lion, Ted Ross.
Video: See the Cast of The Wiz Tour Perform 'Ease on Down the Road,' 'Be a Lion,' and More
Joseph Joubert provides music supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements, with dance arrangements by Adam Blackstone and Terence Vaugn, vocal arrangements by Allen René Louis, music direction by Paul Byssainthe Jr., scenic design by Hannah Beachler, costume design by Sharen Davis, lighting design by Ryan J. O'Gara, video and projection design by Daniel Brodie, sound design by Jon Weston, wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, and makeup design by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche. Casting is by TRC Casting Company. Justin Myhre serves as production stage manager.
Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, Ambassador Theatre Group, Kandi Burruss, Todd Tucker, and NETworks Presentations are producing.
Visit WizMusical.com.
