The Wiz is a musical by Charlie Smalls, later adapted by William F. Brown as a book. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. The original 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-black cast. The musical has had revivals in New York, London, San Diego and the Netherlands, and an off-Broadway Encores! concert version was staged in June 2009. A film adaptation was released in 1978.

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Productions and background

The idea for the musical originated with producer Ken Harper. He replaced the original director with Geoffrey Holder, in Detroit, during out-of-town tryouts. Although he considered closing the show after opening night on Broadway, a publicity campaign and favorable audience reaction led to a four-year Broadway run and two tours ^[1] The musical opened on Broadway on January 5, 1975 with Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, Hinton Battle as Scarecrow, Tiger Haynes as the Tin Woodman, Ted Ross as Lion, Dee Dee Bridgewater as Glinda the Good Witch of the South, André DeShields as the Wiz and Mabel King as Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West and Clarice Taylor as Addaperle the good witch of the North. The production was directed by Geoffrey Holder. The Wiz originally opened at the Majestic Theatre and later moved to The Broadway Theatre. It closed on January 28, 1979, after four years and 1,672 performances. The most popular song from the production was "Ease on Down the Road", sung by the characters as they dance down the Yellow Brick Road.

Along with other musicals like Purlie (1971) and Raisin (1974), The Wiz was a breakthrough for Broadway, a large-scale big-budget musical featuring an all-black cast. It laid the foundation for later African-American hits like Bubbling Brown Sugar , Dreamgirls and Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies .

The musical toured the US in 1976. ^[2] During the tour, Stephanie Mills was replaced by Rene Harris. Deborah Malone replaced Harris in 1978.

A revival ran on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre from May 24, 1984 through June 3, 1984, closing after 13 performances and 7 previews. Directed by Geoffrey Holder, the cast featured Stephanie Mills as Dorothy. It then ran in London at the Lyric Hammersmith from December 11, 1984 through February 2, 1985. ^[3] A planned 2004 Broadway revival ^[4] was not produced.

A production ran at the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, from September 26, 2006 through November 12, 2006, receiving good reviews and extending its run by three weeks. It was directed by Des McAnuff, who, with Harold Wheeler, orchestrator of the original Broadway version, revised the musical for contemporary audiences. It starred David Alan Grier and featured sets by Robert Brill. ^{[5] [6]}

Dodger Productions holds U.S. rights to revive The Wiz , while Joop Van den Ende's Stage Entertainment holds the European rights. ^[7] Stage Entertainment mounted a full-scale production at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, Netherlands in 2006. The production was directed by Glen Castle and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast (choreographer of Mamma Mia ) and featured sets by David Gallo.

City Center's Encores! Summer Stars series production ran June 12 through July 5, 2009. The production was directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. It starred R&B recording artist/actress Ashanti as Dorothy, actor Orlando Jones (suceeded by Colman Domingo) as The Wiz, and LaChanze as Aunt Em and Glinda. ^[8]

Plot

Prologue :

Dorothy is seen with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the rest of her family on their farm in Kansas. Dorothy expresses her desire to get away from the farm life and see distant lands. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry urge Dorothy, telling her that she has everything that she could ever want here at home ("The Feeling We Once Had").

- Act I -

The porch spins and flies through the clouds ("Tornado Ballet"), coming to rest with a great crash in a strange and beautiful country. There she is met by the Munchkins who dress all in blue, and Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North who tells Dorothy that her porch has fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East and killed her, freeing the Munchkins from her powers. Dorothy, distressed and confused, wants only to return to Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and Toto back in Kansas, and Addaperle decides her best bet is to go and see the great and powerful Wizard of Oz ("He's the Wizard"). Addaperle gives Dorothy the silver shoes that belonged to the Witch of the East, and tell her not to take them off before she reaches home, for they hold a very powerful charm.

As Dorothy sets down the Road of Yellow Brick, full of doubt and fear at what lies ahead ("Soon As I Get Home"). Stopping to rest by a cornfield, she is startled when a Scarecrow hanging on a pole strikes up a conversation with her ("I Was Born the Day Before Yesterday"). He tells her of his longing for brains so that he can be like other people, and she invites him to accompany her to see if Oz can help him ("Ease On Down the Road #1").

The Road of Yellow Bricks lead them into a great forest where they discover a man made of tin, rusted solid. They oil his joints ("Slide Some Oil To Me") and he tells them how, to prevent his marrying the servant girl, the Wicked Witch of the East put a spell on his ax so that it began to cut off parts of his body. Each time it happened, a tinsmith replaced the missing part with metal until the woodchopper was entirely made of tin. The one item the tinsmith left out was a heart, and the Tinman has longed for one ever since. Dorothy and the Scarecrow invite him on their journey to see the Wiz with the hope that he may give the woodchopper a heart ("Ease On Down the Road #2").

The Road of Yellow Brick leads them into a dark jungle where they are attacked by a large lion ("(I'm a) Mean Ole Lion"), but are unharmed because the Lion is a coward. When he learns where they are going, the Lion asks them if he may accompany them to ask the Wiz for courage. They agree and the trio becomes a quartet ("Ease On Down the Road #4"), but face a new danger as they are attacked by great creatures - half tiger, half bear ("Kalidah Battle"). After a great fight, and a harrowing escape, they stop by the road to rest. The Lion is embarrassed by his cowardice in the battle, but is comforted by Dorothy's kind words ("Be a Lion").

Seeing a green glow in the distance, they continue their journey to Emerald City, and wander into a group of Poppies who blow opium dust on them. Not being made of flesh, Tinman and Scarecrow are unaffected, but Dorothy and Lion begin to become disorientated and drowsy. Dorothy recalls that the Munchkins warned her of the dangerous Poppies, and runs from the field as fast as she can with the Scarecrow and Tinman behind her. The Lion is overcome by the dust and begins to hallucinate ("Lion's Dream"). he is dragged from the field and returned to his friends by the Field Mice who police the area.

Marching up to the gates of the beautiful city, they are met by the Gatekeeper who insists they must all be fitted with a pair of green tinted glasses that are locked on to prevent their eyes from being blinded by the dazzling sights. They enter the city and look about in awe at the richly dressed people that inhabit this magnificent place ("Emerald City Ballet"). The haughty and condescending people laugh and ridicule this odd party for wanting to see the Wiz until they spot the Witch of the East's silver shoes Dorothy wears. The foursome are shown right in.

Once in the throne room, they are assaulted by a great show of lights, smoke, and pyrotechnics as the Wiz appears in several forms before them ("So You Wanted To meet the Wizard"). They each plead their case to the smug magician, and the Tinman imagines how life would be with a heart ("What Would I Do If I Could Feel"). The Wiz agrees on one condition - they must kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy and her companions sink to the floor in tears as their goals seem farther off than ever.

- Act II -

The Witch who rules over the yellow land to the west, enslaving its people - the Winkies. She is an evil, power hungry to get what she wants ("Winkie Chant / Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News"). Seeing Dorothy and her odd friends approach, she sends her flying monkeys to kill them ("Funky Monkeys"). They dash the Tinman against rocks until he can no longer move, and rip the stuffing from the Scarecrow also leaving him helpless. Seeing the silver shoes on Dorothy, they dare not harm her, instead carrying her and the Lion to the castle. While searching for a way to get the powerful shoes from the little girl, the witch forces the Lion and Dorothy to work doing menial chores. After taking delight in torturing the Lion before Dorothy, the Witch is melted as the angry little girl throws a bucket of water on her. The spell on the Winkies is lifted, and they show their thanks by restoring the Tinman and Scarecrow to top condition, and reuniting the four friends ("Everybody Rejoice").

Returning to the Emerald City, they find the Wiz (now a booming voice that seems to come from the very air). The Wiz reneges on his promise, and the Lion knocks over a screen in anger. behind the screen stands a bewildered man who claims to be the real Wiz ("Who Do You Think You Are?"). He shows them the elaborate mechanical effects used to create his illusions, and tells them he is really a humbug from Omaha who traveled to Oz by accident when his hot air balloon drifted off course. The people of Oz had never seen such a sight and proclaimed him Wizard. Not wanted to disappoint them, he assumed the role, and had a great city built. He then had everyone in the city wear green glasses, and in time, the people came to believe the city was made of emeralds.

The angry foursome confront the Wiz on his deceptions, who points out that the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion all have the qualities they seek as shown in their behavior on the journeys they have made ("Believe In Yourself"). They remain unconvinced so he creates physical symbols of their desires and they are satisfied. He proposes that Dorothy return to Kansas the way he came, and offers to pilot her in a hot air balloon. He addresses the Citizens of the Emerald City in person for the first time in many years, telling him of his imminent journey, and leaving the clever Scarecrow in charge ("Y'all Got It!"). Just as his speech reaches its climax, the balloon comes free from its moorings and rises quickly into the air, taking Dorothy's hopes of getting home with it.

There is a flash of light and Addaperle appears, suggesting Dorothy ask Glinda, the Good Witch of the South for help. She transports them to Glinda's palace in the red Quadling country to the south("A Rested Body Is a Rested Mind"). Glinda is beautiful and gracious sorceress, surrounded by a court of pretty girls. She tells Dorothy that the silver shoes have always had the power to take her home, but like her friends, Dorothy needed to believe that fact before it was possible ("If You Believe"). Dorothy bids a tearful goodbye to her companions, and as their faces fade into the darkness, she thinks about what she has learned, what she has gained, and what she has lost ("Home"). She taps the heels of the silver shoes together three times, and as Toto jumps into her arms, licking her face, she knows she is at last back home ("Finale").

Motion picture

Motown Productions acquired the film rights to The Wiz in 1977, and signed Stephanie Mills in anticipation of having her star in the film adaptation. Motown singer and actress Diana Ross asked Motown CEO Berry Gordy to cast her as Dorothy instead, but Gordy declined, feeling the thirty-three year old Ross was far too old for the part. However, Ross contacted Rob Cohen of Universal Pictures, who offered to have Universal finance the film if Ross were to play Dorothy, at which point Gordy acquiesced.

The resulting film version of The Wiz also starred former Motown star Michael Jackson as The Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man, Richard Pryor as the Wiz, and Lena Horne as Glinda the Good Witch. Ted Ross and Mabel King reprised their respective roles of the Cowardly Lion and Evilene from the Broadway production. Sidney Lumet served as director, working with screenwriter Joel Schumacher (who used none of Brown's stage script) and music supervisor Quincy Jones.

Songs

;Act 1 The Feeling We Once Had – Aunt Em Tornado Ballet – Company He's the Wizard – Addaperle and Munchkins Soon as I Get Home – Dorothy I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday – Scarecrow and Crows Ease on Down the Road – Dorothy, Scarecrow and Yellow Brick Road Slide Some Oil to Me – Tinman, Dorothy and Scarecrow Mean Ole Lion – Lion Kalidah Battle – Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion, Kalidahs and *Yellow Brick Road Be a Lion – Dorothy and Lion Lion's Dream – Lion and Poppies Emerald City Ballet (Psst)(Music By Timothy Graphenreed and George Faison) – Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion and Company So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard – The Wiz What Would I Do If I Could Feel – Tinman

;Act 2 No Bad News – Evillene Funky Monkeys – Monkeys Everybody Rejoice (Music and Lyrics By Luther Vandross) – Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion and Winkies Who Do You Think You Are? – Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion Believe in Yourself – The Wiz Y'all Got It! – The Wiz A Rested Body Is a Rested Mind – Glinda Believe in Yourself (Reprise) – Glinda Home – Dorothy

Critical reception

In his review of the 1984 revival, Frank Rich wrote: "What made The Wiz surprisingly moving the first time around was that its creators found a connection between Baum's Kansas fantasy and the pride of urban black Americans. When Glinda, the good witch, musically instructed Dorothy to believe in herself, she seemed to be delivering a broader inspirational message. The Wiz was hardly a great musical in 1975, but it had something to say, and it said it with verve and integrity. It's depressing to watch a once-fervent expression of black self-respect and talent be spilled on the stage as if it were a trunkload of marked-down, damaged goods." ^[9]

In their review of the 2006 La Jolla production, Variety wrote: "'The Wiz' remains a collage of contemporary slang and imagery, but La Jolla's is a multicultural collage in which Baum's themes speak to the broadest possible audience. Unquestionably, the humor and the heartbeat of the piece remain African-American at their source, but the overall effect is pluralistic and inclusive. In the truest and most positive sense of the phrase, McAnuff's show is color-blind. Every alteration from the 1975 original, inspired by the central multicultural concept, is salutary. Brown's almost wholly rewritten script is tart and funny at last. Smalls' score -- supervised by musical director Ron Melrose and original orchestrator Harold Wheeler -- sounds fresh and contemporary." ^[10]

Recording

The Original Cast recording was released in 1975 on the Atlantic label, ASIN: B000V6AS46.

Awards and nominations

;Tony Awards

• Best Musical (winner)
• Best Original Score (winner)
• Best Featured Actor in a Musical-Ted Ross (winner)
• Best Featured Actress in a Musical-Dee Dee Bridgewater (winner)
• Best Costume Design-Geoffrey Holder (winner)
• Best Choreography-George Faison (winner)
• Best Direction of a Musical (winner)
• Best Book of a Musical (nominee)

;Drama Desk

• Outstanding Musical (winner)
• Outstanding Music and Lyrics (winner)
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical-Ted Ross (winner)
• Outstanding Choreography (winner)
• Outstanding Costume Design (winner)
• Outstanding Actress in a Musical-Stephanie Mills (nominee)
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical-Hinton Battle (nominee)
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical-Mabel King (nominee)
• Outstanding Director of a Musical (nominee)
• Outstanding Set Design-Tom H. John (nominee)

See also

• The Wizard of Oz (adaptations) — other adaptations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

References

1. Green, Kay. ''Broadway musicals, show by show'' (1996), Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0793577500, p. 241
2. tourbroadwayworld.com, accessed April 2, 2009
3. Listingguidetomusicaltheatre.com
4. Staff."Des McAnuff Tapped for Dodgers Wiz Revival",broadway.com, April 10, 2003
5. Portantiere, Michael. Brady, Burgess, Grier, James, Pettiford, Washington to Star in La Jolla's The Wiz", theatermania.com, July 25, 2006
6. Stevens, Rob. "Reviews, ''The Wiz'', theatermania.com, October 12, 2006
7. Lampert, Ellen. "Wiz Kids" livedesignonline.com, February 1, 2007
8. Gans, Andrew. "The Wiz Ends Limited City Center Engagement July 5",playbill.com, July 5, 2009
9. Rich, Frank."Stage: 'The Wiz' Back on Broadway",''The New York Times'', May 25, 1984
10. Verini, Bob."Regional: 'The Wiz'",''Variety'', Oct. 12, 2006