A live production of the 1975 Broadway musical, "The Wiz," which put a modern spin on the classic "Wizard of Oz" tale with a cast of African-American actors.
Directors: Matthew Diamond, Kenny Leon
Stars: Shanice Williams, Queen Latifah, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Stephanie Mills.
Tre Holloway ... assistant choreographer
Charmaine Jordan ... associate choreographer
Fatima Robinson ... choreographer
Eric Sanchez ... assistant choreographer
1 song in the Soundtrack, but plenty onscreen; there's a new song for this production, sung by Dorothy.
The original B'way (The Wiz) Dorothy, SM, is Auntie Em here, and gets a big song before the storm.
I'm not a big fan of this show; here are my notes for the film The Wiz (1978), 7-. And I'm not watching this live, so I don't get any sense of how quickly they transitioned between sets/scenes.
I was impressed by the dancing and singing of the Scarecrow EK. I liked the idea and execution of the tornado dancers. DAG, the Lion, can really sing! So can everyone cast to sing.
I forwarded through it again to see the dancing. I could NOT find the Cirque du Soleil silk work.
A visual treat with lots of primary colors.
Rated 7.1 (2,017)
NBC, dir. Diamond & Leon; 7
