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 a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) in the context of contemporary African-American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974, at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, and moved to Broadway's Majestic TheatreThis was not the same Majestic Theatre that played The Wizard of Oz in 1903, which was on Columbus Circle, where Time Warner Center now stands. with a new cast on January 5, 1975.
The 1975 Broadway production was nominated for eight Tony Awards winning seven including Best Musical. It was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-Black cast. It 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, with Ted Ross and Mabel King reprising their stage roles. The Wiz Live!, a television production of the stage musical, was broadcast on NBC in December 2015.
Production history Development and Broadway The idea for the musical originated with producer Ken Harper. He replaced the original director, Gilbert Moses, with Geoffrey Holder in Detroit during out-of-town tryouts. As cast member André De Shields, who played the title role, later wrote, "It was Geoffrey's masterful people skills and embrace of magical realism that metamorphosed The Wiz from caterpillar to butterfly."
The original Baltimore cast included Stephanie Mills as Dorothy Gale, Stu Gilliam as the Scarecrow, Tiger Haynes as the Tin Man, Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion, and Butterfly McQueen as the Queen of the Field Mice, but in a much smaller role. Renée C. Harris stayed on as understudy for the role of Dorothy, as did McQueen for the role of Addaperle.
The production was choreographed by George Faison, with scenic designer Tom H. John, costumes by Geoffrey Holder, lighting by Tharon Musser, and orchestrations by Harold Wheeler. Faison and Holder both won Tony Awards for choreography and costume design, respectively at the 29th Tony Awards in 1975.
The show had a pre-Broadway tryout at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit in November 1974, and at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia from December 11, 1974, through December 21, 1974.The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 13, 1974, p. 27. After drawing mixed critical reviews, producer Ken Harper considered closing the musical 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;Green, Kay, Broadway Musicals, Show by Show (1996), Hal Leonard Corporation, , p. 241. The single hit the Billboard Soul Singles chart, peaking at No. 19 and the Hot 100, peaking at No. 42.
William F. Brown, who wrote the book, gave a more specific explanation in 1993: "20th Century-Fox, the musical's major investor, put in another $100,000 to keep it going and everyone agreed to royalty cuts until the production's cost—about $1.1 million—was recouped....By the eighth week, we were selling out."
The Broadway production moved to the Broadway Theatre on May 25, 1977, and closed on January 28, 1979, after four years and 1,672 performances.
Along with other musicals including 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 such as Bubbling Brown Sugar, Dreamgirls and Sophisticated Ladies.
National tours and later revivals The musical toured the US in 1976 and during the tour, Kenneth Kamal Scott (then billed as "Kamal") replaced André De Shields as the Wiz, Renn Woods was cast as Dorothy but departed the tour after playing only a couple of cities because during the show's engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, the 19-year-old performer was recruited for a featured part in the movie production of Hair. Renee C. Harris (who was in her very early 20s) took over as the tour's Dorothy and continued leading that company for a couple of years playing many engagements in cities across the country. At this time, the production also featured Ben Harney as the Tin Man and Ken Prymus as the Lion. Prymus was known to audiences for his featured role as Private Seidman in the movie M*A*S*H (1970) where he sang "Suicide is Painless". Both men were subsequently featured in other Broadway shows and were as replacements in the Broadway production of Ain't Misbehavin. Harney also originated the leading role of Curtis Taylor Jr. in the Broadway debut of Dreamgirls. When Harris eventually departed the company, the tour continued with Deborah Malone in the role of Dorothy. There was also a second national touring company which was a scaled down production. This second tour opened with Malone reprising her role as Dorothy, who was later replaced by Lillias White.
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. A planned 2004 Broadway revival was not produced.
In August 2015, George Faison presented The Wiz: A Celebration in Dance and Music, performances of the original songs and choreography in honor of the Broadway hits 40th Anniversary at Summerstage in New York City. A number of members of the original Broadway cast returned for this celebratory run. Actress Phylicia Rashad, a munchkin and swing in the original production, co-hosted the performance with George Faison. André De Shields reprised his original role as the Wiz; Dee Dee Bridgewater, Tony Award winner for her role as Glinda, reprised her original role; Evelyn Thomas reprised her original role as the Tornado and Ebony Jo-Ann who played Addaperle in the Broadway revival of the production reprised her role as well. Singer-songwriter Wallace Gary joined the cast as the Scarecrow. Damien L. Sneed acted as the musical director and conductor of The Wiz: A Celebration in Dance and Music.
From 1996 to 1997 there was a US concert version tour with Tasha Scott as Dorothy, Grace Jones as Evillene, Peabo Bryson as The Wiz, and CeCe Peniston as Glinda. The cast also featured Tony Terry as the Tin Man and Romelda Benjamin as Aunt Em.
A North American tour, directed by Schele Williams with new material by Amber Ruffin, launched in the fall of 2023 in Baltimore with plans to transfer to Broadway for a limited engagement in spring 2024. The Broadway revival opened at the Marquis Theatre on April 17, 2024 with previews beginning March 29, 2024. The production concluded its limited engagement on August 18, 2024 after 18 preview performances and 142 regular performances. The tour then resumed performances beginning February 2025 starring Alan Mingo Jr. and Mykal Kilgore.The Wiz Tour IBDB, Retrieved August 24, 2025
Other productions An Australian production for J. C. Williamson Theatres Limited played in Melbourne and Sydney from January–October 1976; starring Andrea Frierson (Dorothy), Victor Willis (Tin Man), Freddie Paris (Lion), Chuck McKinney (The Wiz) and Robert Ellis (Scarecrow). Upon his return from Australia in late 1976, Victor Willis joined the cast of the original Broadway production.Williamson J. C. Theatres Ltd., official program, May 1, 1976.
Flymonkey Productions (London) ran two shows. The first one was in 2000 which received great reviews and a second was run the following year in 2001 receiving exceptional reviews from the London press. Both productions were run at the Hackney Empire. The 2001 show was particularly notable because it was the last show to be performed at the Hackney Empire before the theatre closed its doors for refurbishment. Both shows were directed by Jamie Hinde; musical director Steve White (both shows); production manager Andy Barnes (both shows); choreography by Suzannah Howlett (2000) and Juliet Vibert (2001, also appeared as a dancer in both shows). The production starred Tamsier Joof Aviance (both shows); Rustie Lee (both shows); Sharon D. Clarke (2000), Victoria Wilson-James (2001), and Kat Boyce of MTV (both shows)."The Wiz" : Review of the show in the London Evening Standard by Max Bell, published May 1, 2001 retrieved March 31, 2015
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 Nikki M. James (Dorothy), E. Faye Butler (Evelline) and David Alan Grier (The Wiz), and featured sets by Robert Brill.
Dodger Productions holds US rights to revive the musical, while Joop Van den Ende's Stage Entertainment holds the European rights. Stage Entertainment mounted a full-scale production at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, Netherlands, in 2006. The production was directed by Glenn Casale and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast and featured sets by David Gallo.
New York 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 Ashanti as Dorothy, Tichina Arnold as Evillene, Dawnn Lewis as Addaperle, Joshua Henry as the Tin Man, James Monroe Iglehart as the Lion, Orlando Jones (succeeded by Colman Domingo) as The Wiz, and LaChanze as Aunt Em and Glinda.
A major British revival of the musical was produced in 2011 by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (however performed at the New Alexandra Theatre due to The REP's refurbishment) in a co-production with the West Yorkshire Playhouse, re-locating Kansas to present day Birmingham This production was directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, with choreography by Paul J. Medford.
The first German-speaking production was produced in Linz, Austria in the new Musiktheater Linz, directed and choreographed by Kim Duddy.
The Fiddlehead Theatre Company, in the historic Strand Theatre in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, mounted a production, directed by Stacey Stephens, Fiddlehead Theatre Company's associate producing artistic director, in February 2015.
A production ran at The Muny from June 19–25, 2018. It starred Nathan Lee Graham as The Wiz, James T. Lane as Tinman, Darius de Haas as Lion, Demetria McKinney as Glinda, and newcomers Danyel Fulton and Jared Grimes as Dorothy and Scarecrow, respectively. It was directed by Denis Jones and choreographed by Camille A. Brown.
The Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester mounted a production that ran from November 24, 2021, until January 16, 2022, with the cast including Tarik Frimpong as the Scarecrow. The production was recorded and streamed as an encore production, and performances from it were broadcast by the BBC as part of Big Night of Musicals by the National Lottery.
A Mexican production ran from June 2023 to September 2024 at Teatro Hidalgo in Mexico City for over 200 performances. Produced by Juan Torres and directed by Ricardo Díaz, the show was choreographed by Pablo Rodríguez. Set design was by Oscar Acosta. The show starred Lucero Mijares in her theatre debut as Dorothy, Oscar Acosta as the Tin Man, Juan Fonsalido as the Scarecrow, Felipe Alvarez as the Lion, and Jair Campos as the Wiz.
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