Delete Please

[QMAN03]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 4:17am

Updated On: 8/21/06 at 04:17 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 4:23am

...

I'm most hung up on "Toto vision."

Wow!

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 4:40am

Toto Vision wins for me too... I'll be throwing the bone at him.

[folkyboy]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 7:32am

oh dear mother of god this sounds amazing! The Wiz is one of my all-time favorite shows ever!

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 7:44am

wow, the "Toto Vision" thing intrigues me
interesting...

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 8:25am

This sounds really innovative and spectacular. Has your friend been at any of the rehearsels? Perhaps she could tell you a little bit about how the cast is?, particularly Nikki James.

[unknownfan2]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 8:46am

Did you know that there are actually two big-budget Broadway caliber Wiz revivals going on at the very same time? It is the product of the divorce between Dutch billionaire Joop Van den Ende's Stage Entertainment and McAnuff's Dodger Productions.

When Stage Entertainment split from the Dodger's last year, they got more than just ownership of Dodger Stages in NYC. It seems that the Dodgers and Stage Entertainment together held the worldwide rights to revive The Wiz. After the split, the Dodgers retained the US rights, while Stage Entertainment got the Pan European rights. But wait, the plot thickens: Stage Entertainment has hired a Broadway caliber
creative team (including Tony winner David Gallo doing sets and lighting designer Thomas Hase, both of the Broadway-bound Company revival, director Glenn Casale and costume designer Miguel Huidor). The competing Wiz revival in Holland goes up in early September, only weeks before La Jolla. I'm told that the Dutch version is also a futuristic updated vision of The Wiz.

You can see more about the Dutch Wiz here:

http://www.stageholding.com/html/271_918.html
http://www.musicals.nl/

[LI Larry]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:09am

It sounds great. I'm going in November. I'm not sure how the concert thing will work but it worked for Chicago. Now I'm glad I'm going.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:11am

Well at least they are trying something new...

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:35am

Hmmm..
Maybe i'm living in OZ, but does this sound rediculous to anyone?

[alterego]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:37am

From the description it sounds absolutely hideous. The preview of the Dutch production looks good though. Updated On: 8/19/06 at 09:37 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:46am

I hope they remember, somewhere among all the creative rubble, what the story is about.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:58am

Okay the Dutch production has me even MORE concerned:

"The Wiz is an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, set in Harlem, New York. The musical is based onthe 1978 movie The Wizard of Oz and the original Broadway musical of 1975. The film with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross was an instant succes. The musical received eight Tony Awards® on Broadway including Best Musical, Best Script and Best Music."

Are they actually basing their version on that HIDEOUSLY bad movie version??? Dorothy is a little girl from KANSAS not HARLEM. The stage show had nothing to do with New York. And the movie the Wizard of Oz was made in 1939. The Wiz (on stage) wasn't based on that, either. It was based on the 1900 book by L. Frank Baum, and in many ways is more faithful to its source material than even the MGM movie was.

Someday, sometime, I'd REALLY like to see a production of The Wiz again. I want my "Wiz" back. I don't recognize it anymore.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:03am

best12bars - I want my Wiz back too! Toto vision indeed!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:04am

Well, I guess in the La Jolla version, Dorothy is a little girl from Kansas who gets carried away to an NYSYNC concert.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:05am

I got a better idea...

Let's redo "Dreamgirls" and set it at the Grand Old Opry.

Effie Mae and Deena Jo can compete for a coveted spot on a live radio broadcast.

And "Junior" Taylor can be their love interest, manager... and first cousin.

That's something new, too.

Updated On: 8/19/06 at 10:05 AM

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:05am

Lord,
They'll do anything to get people into a theatre won't they.
Here's an idea....a big cast, great performances, a lush orchestra, fabulous sets and costumes and no cameras strapped to actors heads.
It worked for R & H.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:07am

That sounds great but do it in the round with ramps! ( Sounds like the CANDIDE of 1973).

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:08am

"Starlight Depressed"

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:09am

Well, I'll reserve total judgement until I see it, because I did love what Des did with JERSEY BOYS - but I've been saying from the beginning - why not just write a completely new pop version of THE WIZARD OF OZ, which is in the public domain, rather than try to drag the poor little ol' WIZ into the 21st century? It shouldn't have to apologize for being a 1970s soul musical.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:13am

I think shows such as The Wiz, Hair, The Magic Show, Pippin, Godspell, JCS etc. are best left in the 60's and 70's and remembered as they were. The music is amazing, but a product of it's time.

I mean, how many times have we sat through HS/comminity productions of Godspell set in classrooms, rooftops, or on the moon? Comeon.

(PS, I happen to love Godspell, and have never seen a good production of it except for the video archive of it at the Library at Lincoln Center)

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:15am

GODSPELL set on the moon! That just made my day! Did they do "Prepare ye for the Way of the Lord" in spacesuits?

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:20am

Ground Control to Major Tom?

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:20am

Fortunately, I didn't see that one. I think I might have hurt the director if I had.

You know what I mean though MB....where *hasn't* Godspell been set?

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:22am

... in OZ!

Let's combine the TWO! Wizspell!