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The Wiz is a 1975 Broadway musical, based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, exclusively featuring African American actors. The play features music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and a book by William F. Brown, and its original cast featured Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, Tiger Haynes, Ted Ross, Dee Dee Bridgewater, André DeShields, Tasha Thomas and Mabel King. The show opened on January 5, 1975 at the Majestic Theatre and ended on January 28, 1979, running for 1,672 performances. A motion picture adaptation of The Wiz was produced in 1978 (see 1978 in film) by Motown Productions and Universal Pictures, starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, and Mabel King.
musical marked the first time that all of the Wizard of Oz characters were portrayed as African Americans.
Broadway musical opened 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, 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 South.
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Quotations
Bottom line honey, This chick put the ugh in ugly
I can't see how goin' south 125th street ever mad anybody's life better.
I thought it over and green is dead, 'til I change my mind the color's red
I'm just plain old Herman Smith from Atlantic City
If I only had a brain I would have figured that out a long time ago
oh, what I wouldn't give to be in shock...just once
Encyclopedia
The Wiz is a 1975 Broadway musical, based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, exclusively featuring African American actors. The play features music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and a book by William F. Brown, and its original cast featured Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, Tiger Haynes, Ted Ross, Dee Dee Bridgewater, André DeShields, Tasha Thomas and Mabel King. The show opened on January 5, 1975 at the Majestic Theatre and ended on January 28, 1979, running for 1,672 performances. A motion picture adaptation of The Wiz was produced in 1978 (see 1978 in film) by Motown Productions and Universal Pictures, starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, and Mabel King.
History
The musical marked the first time that all of the Wizard of Oz characters were portrayed as African Americans.
Broadway musical
The Broadway musical opened 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, 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 South. The production was directed by Geoffrey Holder. The Wiz opened at the Majestic Theatre and later moved to The Broadway Theatre. It ran for four years and over 1600 performances, and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. 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.
It was never performed on London's West End, but a handful of amateur and semi-professional productions have appeared in Britain with black and non-black casts.
During the tour, Stephanie Mills was replaced by Rene Harris in 1976. Deborah Malone replaced Harris in 1978.
Plot Synopsis
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 That We Have").
- 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").
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.
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, 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 Chiends 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. Although the stage musical's setting begins in Kansas before moving into the fanciful Oz (as do most other versions of the Oz stories), the film version of The Wiz is set in New York City: Dorothy's real-life home is in Harlem, and the Oz of the film is an alternate fantasy version of the rest of New York City. The $22 million production was poorly received by critics and grossed only $12 million during its original theatrical release. Nor has it become an annual favorite on television as the famous 1939 film of "The Wizard of Oz" did.
The Wiz was Michael Jackson's first feature film, and is Diana Ross's final theatrical feature film to date. Its commercial failure helped to bring to an end the stream of all-black films that had begun with the "blaxploitation film" era of the 1970s. However, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones's collaboration on the film's soundtrack led to Jones producing three of Jackson's most successful albums, Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. In later years, due to its recurrent broadcasts on television, The Wiz has become something of a cult classic among African-American audiences.
Dueling revivals: America vs. Holland
The Wiz was revived on Broadway in 1984 with Stephanie Mills reprising her role as Dorothy. The production, which played at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, was a flop, lasting only 13 performances.
Dodger Productions acquired the worldwide rights to revive the Wiz in 2004. It is rumored that when Dodger Productions and Joop Van den Ende's Stage Entertainment split in 2005, the worldwide rights to the revival were split between the two companies, with the Dodgers retaining the US rights, while Stage Entertainment kept the European rights.
The new American production of The Wiz began in September 2006 at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff, and with Harold Wheeler, orchestrator of the original Broadway version, have revised the show for contemporary audiences. It starred David Alan Grier and featured sets by Robert Brill. Its run was extended by more than three weeks due to popular demand, and it is rumored to be headed for Broadway. However, there has been no official word on this matter.
Simultaneously, Joop Van den Ende's Stage Entertainment is mounting a full-scale, Broadway-caliber production at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, Netherlands. Directed by Glen Castle, the production will feature choreography by Anthony Van Laast of Mamma Mia fame, sets by Tony Award winner David Gallo and costumes by Miguel Humidor. It stars a number of Dutch theater and music stars.
Stage Entertainment also acquired ownership of Dodger Stages, a multi-theater Off-Broadway venue in New York City (now dubbed New World Stages) in the break-up.
See also
External links
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