Orlando Jones and LaChanze Join Cast of Encores! THE WIZ; Full Cast Announced — Page 2

^ Apparently.

Orlando Jones did 2 seasons of MadTV and a commercial series for 7Up in the 90s...not really a "star."

Tichina Arnold is at least on a TV series right now, but I have no idea what network it's on. I can sorta classify her as a star.

LaChanze is arguably a star, she does have a Tony Award, but so does Daisy Eagan.

Dawnn Lewis, I can sorta see that as well, but I'm not sure she's a household name.

I'm pretty pop culutre savvy. I catch the majority of jokes on Family Guy and Gilmore Girls. I had no idea, based on name, who Jones or Arnold were, and I had to stop and think about Lewis for a second.

Needless to say, I will not be partaking in this, unless someone drops out and is replaced.

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^ Not the argument.

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Was Stephanie Mills a "star" when she started with The Wiz? No! And neither was half the cast. Why do we need "stars" in this show? And quite honestly, if you go into any black household with parents or kids who watched any of these performers in the tv shows or movies they were in, they would know who they are and consider them stars. And I am sure not just black people consider them stars. I think this is a very interesting and talented cast.

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If I remember correctly Orlando Jones was also on "The IT Factor" on Bravo... I think it was right when he got the 7-Up gig.

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I LOVE Orlando Jones.

His performance in The Replacements still sticks out in my mind as one of the funniest things I've seen- love that movie.

He's going to be wonderful.

...and if you keep reading and are a geek like me, you'll recognize Ryan Rankine and Will Wingfield on the list...both Top 10 Finalists from So You Think You Can Dance...which means they're bigger stars to me than anyone else on that list except LaChanze. I didn't recognize anyone else's name...
Of course Tommy and Andy are what's keeping me interested in this one...and the material...

^ LaJolla was bad.

And I love "A Different World." I knew Dawnn Lewis.

I just think this is second-rate casting that would be perfect for a National Tour, not for a show with potential Broadway transfer.

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I'm really excited for this (even though I probably won't get to see it.) The casting looks pretty good to me! I recognized Orlando Brown's name, but I couldn't put a face to him. He's done more than just the 7UP commercials (I'd forgotten all about those!). And on a side note, did anyone realize that Tichina Arnold was only 15 when she did Little Shop? I thought she was at least in her 20s in that movie!

I'm 100% with Husk on this one. Isn't the purpose of this series to cast stars in the roles they were born to play? Who in the world thought of Ashanti right away when they announced this? Most Broadway fans thought of Anika Noni Rose who was born to play the role in the same way than when plenty of Broadway fans thought of Momma Rose, they immediately said that Patti LuPone was born to play the part.
With GYPSY, the star was the whole reason the production happened and that's what made the idea behind the series so fascinating. A show revived solely for a star.
This production doesn't follow that, and on top of that, the "stars" they did get eventually are not nearly as exciting as LuPone, Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines sounded. And for that matter--even if they were lackluster save for Cox and Graff--the group of Sean Hayes, Jane Krakowski, Cheyenne Jackson, Veanne Cox, and Randy Graff seemed like a great idea. Now this? It's incredibly disappointing and even though I was planning on attending this series on a yearly basis, I'll definitely skip this one, ugh.

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Well, Ray, you may be right about some of the performers not being considered born to play their respective parts, but one thing's for sure, for better or for worse, Ashanti will be remembered for her roles as "Dorothy" from now on.

However, you speak only for some when you say that the casting is "not nearly as exciting" as that of Gypsy. I'm not a fan of Gypsy or Lupone et al., but the thought of seeing Tichina Arnold play Evillene has me overjoyed, let alone LaChanze's Glinda. When I read 'Arnold,' I thought, How perfect! The woman can pipe and will be completely in her element. Make no mistake, Tichina is gonna ROCK Evillene!

The last time I saw The Wiz was with Stephanie Mills and Andre de Shields back in '93 and that production was truly inspirational, so much so I thought there's no way they're gonna top that. I realize everyone's expectations are different, but I'm starting to feel that way now although I wonder what singing abilities Orlando Jones possesses. Ashanti is no Stephanie Mills or Noni Rose, but I think she'll make a fine Dorothy. Can't wait to see this one!!

Updated On: 5/8/09 at 09:11 PM

Actually Damn Yankees was planned for a transfer, but Krakowski (I think) didn't want to commit.

And, there's been rumblings about this having a transfer as well.

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Like I said, I don't remember which one it was who didn't commit. And I have no idea if it was part of the contract. The way I understood it was that they felt audience and critical response was good enough to warrant a transfer, but either she or Hayes (and I feel like it was her) didn't want to, and they didn't want to transfer without both.

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