The Wiz Tour Feedback

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 5:22pm

I’m asking for feedback on the Wiz National Tour. I love the music but I’m nervous about how the production lives up to the legacy of the show.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 6:20pm

If the tour is a copy of the recent Broadway revival, then it is garbage.  But that is just my opinion.

Updated On: 5/9/25 at 06:20 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 8:15pm

The talent was decent but it was cheapest looking and ugliest tour I’ve seen in ages. Sets and costumes were awful. I was expecting a lot more since they were touting it came from Broadway. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 8:18pm

Bettyboy72 said: "The talent was decent but it was cheapest looking and ugliest tour I’ve seen in ages. Sets and costumes were awful. I was expecting a lot more since they were touting it came from Broadway."

The version we got on Broadway was the tour that was on the road before it. They just plopped into the Marriott  with about a week or so between their last stop and first preview.

Everything about it was absolutely crap except the performers. I wish I could’ve just had a concert version.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 10:01pm

Out of respect for the actors we waited until intermission to leave.  

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 10:11pm

The over-reliance on the AI visuals was the most disappointing. The performances were terrific (I mean, what voices) but the rest of the production was lackluster. Which is really disappointing if you consider this is the 50th anniversary of the musical. 

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 5/10/25 at 1:52am

The show *was* worth seeing for the cast imo, but the cast has completely changed since Broadway. No idea how the show holds up now without them

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/10/25 at 6:57am

I don’t plan on seeing the tour, but I know that Elijah Ahmad Lewis is the Scarecrow. He was recently in the last equity Ain’t Too Proud tour as David Ruffin and that man can SING and DANCE. So I can say at least one performer is reliably strong.

Alan Mingo Jr. has been with the production since the initial tour. I don’t know his performance (I saw Wayne Brady) but I presume he was good enough to retain in what is essentially  a 10 minute cameo.

Mykal Kilgore originally went out on this tour as the Lion and then peaced out a month or so into it. I wonder what happened there

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/10/25 at 8:11am

quizking101 said: "Mykal Kilgore originally went out on this tour as the Lion and then peaced out a month or so into it. I wonder what happened there"

Which is surprising, because he was vocal with his disappointment in not getting cast for the 2023 leg. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/10/25 at 8:30am

I saw the Broadway stint. Lazy and uninspired. The physical production was absolute crap. The vocals were great, but everything else was so disappointing. 

[ChrisTyler1288]

Posted: 5/11/25 at 3:09pm

What is the story with this and why isn’t it being talked about more? I saw the opening of the tour in Rochester and he was great in the role. And it’s not like the casting of this tour didn’t receive publicity, etc. so I’m curious what the story is there. 

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 5/13/25 at 9:17am

I saw the show on Broadway and loved it. Some of the new book is good, like Evilene being responsible for all the main characters' misfortunes, and a lot of the jokes. However the main story and character of Dorothy I think was better in the Wiz Live! The costumes of the Wiz revival are also great in my opinion. The AI sets are bad, as has been said. The Broadway performers were awesome, amazing, and definitely the best part of the show, but they must have changed the cast since Broadway.

Updated On: 5/13/25 at 09:17 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/13/25 at 9:35am

The Broadway performers were awesome, amazing, and definitely the best part of the show, but they must have changed the cast since Broadway.

Aside from Alan Mingo Jr, who took over the role of The Wiz when Wayne Brady left, the tour features an entirely different cast: 

https://wizmusical.com/cast/

[ChrisTyler1288]

Posted: 5/13/25 at 12:15pm

I'm just a big fan of this particular iteration of The Wiz and I think it's kind of strange that they just have a new person playing the Lion, especially considering Mykal is relatively known in the "theatre world", they took the time to release a rehearsal video of his "Be A Lion" and I saw the opening of the tour and I thought he was really good in the role. I'll be seeing the tour again in Philly and I'm excited to see Cal, I just think it's weird that it went totally unaddressed.