THE WIZ L.Frank Baum - Novel

William F. Brown - Book of MusicalJoel Schumacher – screen play

GENERAL INFORMATION

• The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown

• It is an urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of modern African-American culture.

• It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland and moved to the Majestic Theatre with a new cast on January 5, 1975.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• The 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 a limited-run revival was presented by Encores! at New York City Center in June 2009.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• The musical has had revivals in New York, London, San Diego and the Netherlands, and a limited-run revival was presented by Encores! at New York City Center in June 2009.

• A big-budget film adaptation of the same name was released in 1978 and has since become a cult classic.

• A live television production of the stage show, The Wiz Live!, was broadcast on NBC on December 3, 2015.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

• The musical opened on January 5, 1975 at the Majestic Theatre, with Geoffrey Holder as director and the following cast:

• Stephanie Mills as Dorothy• Hinton Battle as the Scarecrow• Tiger Haynes as the Tin Man• Ted Ross as the Lion• Dee Dee Bridgewater as Glinda, the Good Witch of the South (continued on next slide)

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

• André De Shields as the Wizard• Mabel King as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West• Clarice Taylor as Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North• Tasha Thomas as Aunt Em• Ralph Wilcox as Uncle Henry• Phylicia Rashad as a Munchkin• Victor Willis as Uncle Henry (replacement), The Wiz (understudy), The Lion

(understudy), Tin Man (understudy)

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

• After drawing mixed critical reviews, producer Ken Harper considered closing the show after its Broadway opening night.

• One source attributes its turnaround success to a publicity campaign that included a TV commercial featuring the cast singing "Ease On Down the Road," a song that proved so popular that it was released as a single recorded by the disco group Consumer Rapport.

• The single hit the Billboard Soul Singles chart, peaking at #19 and the Hot 100, peaking at #42.

CULTURE/HISTORICAL RELEVANCE

• 'The Wiz' is more than an award-winning Broadway musical. Its evolution into a feature film and many revivals emerged to become a reflection of African-American culture.

• This cast also made history as George Faison became the first African-American choreographer to win a Tony.

• The film version of 'The Wiz' formed a mosaic of black excellence prevalent in 1978 and beyond.

CULTURE/HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

• One theme consistent for African Americans in 1975 pertains to the absence of a consistent platform for African-American artists to flourish.

• ‘The Wiz' was such a wonderful piece of blackness that encompassed fashion, flair, singing, dancing and pure Black magic.

• The Wiz declared to the entertainment world that black people will find the money and the outlets to tell these stories and perform.

CULTURE/HISTORICAL RELEVANCE

• As we prepare to see a new spin on a classic tale, we are reminded that despite advances in diversity for entertainment and society, the core tenants of prejudice and limited opportunity permeate throughout Hollywood.

• The Wiz has wonderful cultural and historical evidence because as I stated previously it shows how black people can prosper by doing things their own way.

• There are many remakes of the Wizard Of Oz but the Wiz is my favorite and is also known as the Motown Verison of The Wizard Of Oz.

WORKS CITED

• http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/essay-wiz-pure-black-excellence-n471586

• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078504/fullcredits/• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wiz_(film)• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wiz

VIDEO

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w15F4r09Pro