Next year: 40th Anniversary of THE WIZ

... and I want a full-scale revival of the original Geoffrey Holder production, with Andre De Shields reprising his role.

This photo was taken LAST WEEK. That's his original costume from 1975, which he can still wear! (The cape is new, however.)



And I want Dee Dee Bridgewater to reprise her Tony-winning role as Glinda!



The rest can (and should) be a new cast.

That's what I want for Christmas, Santa.

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Is Anika Noni Rose too old for Dorothy?

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Anything would be better than that embarrassingly horrible production at City Center from a few summers ago.

It would be nice to get an actual teenager to play Dorothy. What's next Annaleigh Ashford as Annie?

Bring it!

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Not a teenager, but Janelle Monae is only 5'0", so she could easily pass for a teen. As long as we're dreaming, how about Usher as the Scarecrow?

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Stephanie Mills was 16 years old in the original production!

Here she is in the (short-lived) '80s revival. Check out this brilliant choreography as she dances with the Yellow Brick Road, played by 6-foot-tall dancers wearing yellow-brick tailcoats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP_qcvox8q8

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Updated On: 6/26/14 at 10:37 PM

By the time I saw that same tour Lillias White had moved up to the role of Dorothy and she was wonderful.

You can see Lillias on the left

Updated On: 6/26/14 at 11:20 PM

I saw Deborah Malone (excellent).

That shot above with Lillias White in the chorus was the tour I saw. That's Annie Jo Edwards as Evilene. She played the maid Venus in the movie "Bullets Over Broadway."

Favorite Venus line: "I sure pity the folks who have to pay to see this play."

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Updated On: 6/27/14 at 07:01 AM

One of the greatest disappointments of The Wiz at City Center was Ashanti giving a rather awful performance as Dorothy... They was only made worse about a month after hearing Adrienne Warren, who understudied Ashanti, knock "Home" out of the park at a concert.
HOWEVER, Tichina Arnold was a wonderful Evillene... and Darlesia Ceary was a showstopping Aunt. Em (she covered for LaChanze, who was there for Act Two and couldn't hold a candle to Cearcy..).
I would LOVE to see a slightly adapted version of the original make a return somewhere, though it would clearly only be a limited run... and amazing as she is and was, please keep Stephanie Mills FAR away from this one.
(Phylicia Rashad as Glinda, the role she covered in the original company, is quite tempting though... Or even Lillias White as Evillene...)

This is one of my first favorite musicals. I saw Stephanie twice in a tour in Philly and the 80s revival. She was phenomenal, as was the whole cast. Holder re-invisioned his costumes. I LOVED IT! The cast album was worn out when I was a kid. I even had it on 8-track!

I want an unknown teenager as Dorothy. I wonder if they could have Lillias play Aunt Em and Evillene, because I'd LOVE to hear her sing "The Feeling We Once Had". Usually, if they double up, one actress plays Aunt Em and Glinda.

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Doubling Aunt Em and Evillene would would create a subtext undermining both characters as well as Dorothy's journey and motivation, especially when you have a public who has an opinion colored by the MGM film.
It works when Aunt Em doubles Glinda, and I have seen it work with Evillene doubling Addaperle and The Wiz doubling Uncle Henry and the Emerald City Gatekeeper.