NBC To "Ease On Down The Road"?- Page 6
NBC To "Ease On Down The Road"?
Visceral_Fella
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/12
#125NBC To
Posted: 1/18/15 at 11:25pmI have a strong feeling that they're going to do The Wiz, mostly because Fox is doing Grease. I'm sure they want to keep if not at least share their live musical viewers with fox. If NBC keeps doing classics (Nothing wrong with classics, I'm speaking strictly from a marketing standpoint) while Fox does stuff like Grease, it won't work well in their favor. They need to do something more exciting to keep up. The Wiz like Grease has flavor, and will attract the audience that they haven't reached while maintaining the current audience. The Music Man will not do this for them no matter who they cast in it.
#127NBC To
Posted: 1/18/15 at 11:37pm
They'll do whichever show they're able to attract bigger name talent for, which I'm sure they're already in the midst of exploring. Though I'd love to see THE WIZ, I'm actually rather shocked to hear they're considering it. It doesn't have anywhere near the brand appeal THE MUSIC MAN does and I figured they'd want to play it safe after the ratings disappointment of PETER PAN.
I was almost sad to hear this weekend that Keke Palmer just signed on to do Ryan Murphy's new series for FOX. She'd have been an incredible Dorothy, should THE WIZ be done.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Showface
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
Visceral_Fella
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/12
#130NBC To
Posted: 1/19/15 at 12:00amI still think if they're looking for bigger name talent that they're better off doing The Wiz. That show means so much to African-American performers that I think they'll be able to get real stars who might not even be concerned about the check just to be involved in something so historically important to their community.
#131NBC To
Posted: 1/19/15 at 4:23am
Frankly, I don't think The Wiz is up there with Grease. If we were talking about
Footloose, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing or Saturday Night Fever, yes that would have
been a different matter. But The Wiz., I have my doubts. To score big ratings than they should have done the Wizard of OZ (original version). And I am sure there would have been the same amount of viewers The Sound of Music had.
#132NBC To
Posted: 1/19/15 at 5:01am
I doubt the original Oz would even be an option. If for some reason it was, the reaction would be worse than both SOM and PP. There would be so much comparing to the performances everyone already knows and loves, too big of shoes to fill.
I believe this year marks the 40th anniversary of the original Broadway production of The Wiz. It would be great if they could bring together a couple cast members (from either Broadway or the film) to be a part of a broadcast if it happens. Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Andre De Shields, and Diana Ross and Phylicia Rashad are still around.
I am big. It’s the REVIVALS that got small.
Showface
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
#133NBC To
Posted: 1/19/15 at 8:15am
I think many people doubt how big The Wiz is. Sure, there will be some viewers who won't tune in due to the fact that it's, well, The Wiz. But, think about all the people that did not want to tune in to the Sound of Music and Peter Pan for the same reason. Those were good shows for the family to huddle around a fire, sipping eggnog, singing along to jolly tunes, but The Wiz could bring in a new crowd...
The same crowd that will make Grease a hit.
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#135NBC To
Posted: 2/5/15 at 1:14am
Gothampc wrote:
"You're crazy. The problem is that she's not a good dancer. If you look at any of her live performances, Dancing With The Stars or Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, she's always moved to the back when the dancing starts."
Ah... that's too bad, because the idea actually didn't sound all that crazy to me! I'd like to see her have another chance to prove herself as a musical performer outside of "Annie." We'll wait for a role a bit more... stationary...
Updated On: 2/5/15 at 01:14 AM
philly03
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/07
#136NBC To
Posted: 2/5/15 at 9:38amI think people are underestimated the Wiz too. The Wiz would definitely pull a different group of performers, and I think people forget - one of the reasons why the Sound of Music was so successful was no doubt because people wanted to see a "trainwreck" or see what Carrie Underwood (a risk-taking cast selection) would do. "The Music Man" would certainly call for boring casting like Peter Pan.
#1CarrieFan
Stand-by Joined: 2/5/13
smallvillefan16
Featured Actor Joined: 1/26/08
Showface
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
Showface
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
#141NBC To
Posted: 2/5/15 at 8:54pm
I've said it many times before and I will say it again. China. Anne. McClain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utPu3elZ2kQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ybyYoBU1Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdE_WAnmgeU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1yM-PYUM8g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckHfMLuGtZU
smallvillefan16
Featured Actor Joined: 1/26/08
Starship
Broadway Star Joined: 7/29/12
#145NBC To
Posted: 2/6/15 at 8:46pm
I highly doubt that. Ariana starts her tour this month and is working on her next studio album. Considering she usually releases in the Fall (which would be during rehearsals), she'll be too busy doing promo for anything else.
Plus, she's just not really that great for the role. I'd be shocked if they cast a white Dorothy. And if by "ethnic" you mean a spoiled, white, borderline brat from Boca Raton, then sure...?
Updated On: 2/6/15 at 08:46 PM
#146NBC To
Posted: 2/6/15 at 8:52pm
The original Broadway version had an explicitly Afrocentric design and portrayal. Dorothy's journey took her to a stylized street-smart American black kid's imagined Mother Africa. She then returns to home, American home. The whole show was a response in a metaphorical way to black nationalism: negritude came from within, not from a mythic dream of an idealized Africa.
The film, and subsequent productions, have made Oz just a funky, sometimes ghetto, place. If that's the interpretation used, a multiracial cast can work. But if Oz returns to being a metaphor for Africa, pretty much everyone has to be black.
Starship
Broadway Star Joined: 7/29/12
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