Next year: 40th Anniversary of THE WIZ- Page 3

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 12:46am

The Wizard of Oz is timeless. The Wiz is absolutely a period piece. The dialogue, heavy on slang, music and lyrics are very distinct and very specific to the Afro-American pop culture of the mid-1970s. There is NO mistaking it for anything else.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 1:42am

A dream team of mine for this includes Timbers as director, scenic design by Es Devlin, and choreography by Frank Gaston Jr. & Wayne Cilento. Please...

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 1:50am

Wayne Cilento should never choreograph anything. Ever.
Much like Andy Blankenbuehler.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 1:53am

I think The Wiz would be more of a Chris Gatelli job.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 3:33am

@broadway And why do you say that? Would you rather see him "musically stage"? @Johnny Even though his work is brilliant, I don't necessarily see him doing this. I can see Warren Carlyle being a better suit than him.

Updated On: 7/2/14 at 03:33 AM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 4:14am

Wayne Cilento is a terrible choreographer. Absolutely awful. Look at his choreography credits... It is a roster of shockingly bad choreography and one case of watering down greatness. I admire him for his contributions to the stage as a performer, but as a choreographer... Suffice to say I let out a groan when I see his name.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 8:23am

I agree "The Wiz" is a period piece. I don't want to hear modernized orchestrations or rewritten dialogue, or see crappy machine-like choreography from some idiot who likes pirouettes and scissor leaps a bit too much. I want the Holder production ... okay "enhanced" if you will to up the production value just a bit, but no change in concept.

And I want that '70s Wa-Wa pedal guitar in the pit. They absolutely destroyed the '70s period flavor of the "Chorus Line" orchestrations by removing that guitar. It took the life and the grit right out of it and made it bland and homogenized.

No thank you.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 9:38am

Absolutely, 100%, ready agreement with no reservations, sir.

[justincharacter]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 9:58am

@broadway Alright then. @best Yes, I completely agree! Music and the Mirror included my favorite orchestrations from any musical, ever. The guitar during the second dance break, my gosh...

[tazber]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 10:49am

The Wiz is absolutely a period piece. The dialogue, heavy on slang, music and lyrics are very distinct and very specific to the Afro-American pop culture of the mid-1970s. There is NO mistaking it for anything else.

I used to think the same thing, and honestly never thought it could have a successful revival because of that.

But then Hair came in a blew me away and I realized that no matter how dated something may seem there is always a way to make it fresh and new in the right hands.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/2/14 at 11:29am

I think one of the reasons that the revival of HAIR was so successful, was because it *didn't* try to update or make it contemporary. Diane Paulus brought wonderful ideas and a clear story telling aesthetic to the property, but the production was in many ways more faithful to the original production than many other revivals I've seen.

The La Jolla production of THE WIZ tried to update the material and it largely didn't work.

I'm with Best12 that THE WIZ is in every way (musically, aesthetically, dialectally) rooted in the 1970s and its best shot at a successful revival is to embrace that fact and not get too caught up in modernizing it for contemporary audiences.

A revival of Holder's original production (not the 1984 revival or 1992 national tours which were done on the cheap) would be divine (and probably revelatory) on today's Broadway.

Updated On: 7/2/14 at 11:29 AM

[RW3]

Posted: 7/16/14 at 10:10pm

Would Patina Miller work for Dorothy or would she read too old?

[RW3]

Posted: 7/16/14 at 10:17pm

How about Ciara Renee?

[DivosThoughts]

Posted: 7/16/14 at 11:02pm

Why not Adrienne Warren as Dorothy? I think she would be marvelous, and she also looks younger. Plus, she would sing the crap out of Home.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/16/14 at 11:46pm

Melinda Doolittle??


Melinda Doolittle - Home

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 1:53am

Divos,
Adrienne Warren understudied Ashanti in the role at City Center's Encores Summer Stars. She did not go on, but I heard her sing Home at a concert several weeks after. I assure you, it was remarkable and a crying shame she didn't star in that ill conceived mess.

[DivosThoughts]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 2:30am

Broadwayguy2,
Just imagining her belt out that song makes me cry. I envy you.

[Littleshopofcarrie]

Posted: 9/13/14 at 6:15pm

Ugh, I DESPERATELY want this to happen!!!!

[RW3]

Posted: 9/13/14 at 6:20pm

What about Keke Palmer?

[Starship]

Posted: 9/13/14 at 8:12pm

I'd really love to see Keke Palmer as Dorothy. She's the perfect age and reads very well on stage. As for a name, Ciara might be interesting. She has the name, great stage presence, and she dances well. But, she doesn't read very young and I don't think she has belting abilities. Still, an interesting concept.

Posted: 9/14/14 at 9:46am

After seeing KeKe in Cinderella, she is in no way right for The Wiz. She doesn't exactly have that type of voice to do any of those songs justice, but it works in Cinderella.

I think it should be a no name right out of college, and just blow everyone away.

[troynow]

Posted: 9/14/14 at 12:18pm

No that production shouldn't have gone to broadway. Or the City Center Produciton. Listen The problem people FAIL to realize is that the Wiz worked b/c of Dorothy is a little girl. NOT AN ADULT PLAYING A LITTLE GIRL! You have to have a real 15 or 16 year old who belts her face be taken on a journey through OZ to find home within herself. If you dont do that the show and I do mean the whole show is LOST!

That La Jolla production was WRONG. With the updates they made the choreography and concept. BAD! City Center missed the mark with Ashanti and hip hop.

I agree about bringing Andre De Shields back and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Only if you can get a creative team together like Otis Sallid with The Alvin Ailey Company. Quincy Jones to sign off on using the dance music arranged for the film version of Brand New Day inserted into the revival and a person to play Dorothy you would have a hit.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/14/14 at 3:21pm

^ "Everybody Rejoice (Brand New Day)" is one of the stand-out numbers from Jones' orchestrations, but I'm also partial to "Mean Ole Lion" (great horns) and some of the other numbers. You're sure there's not a way to use all of Quincy's work? I mean, really sure? *cue wobbly-eyed sympathy-drawing emoji*

[uncageg]

Posted: 9/14/14 at 3:50pm

I have also met Andre De Shields. I was sitting in a bar on 9th Ave. In NYC. It was right before he did Jungle Book. I was looking out of the window onto the street and he was standing there talking to a street person. I walked outside and asked him if he was Andre De Shields and he turned to the man and said "See! I really am him!" We chatted for about 10 minutes about The Wiz and just theatre in general. Very sweet man and down to earth. It was really a treat to actually get to thank him after all these years for his wonderful performance and to tell him what it meant to me.

[Starship]

Posted: 9/14/14 at 4:24pm

I would say Zendaya, but she can't sing which is such a shame since she's young enough and can dance.