I think they'll keep Orlando. The African American audience certainly showed their love for Ashanti, Orlando, Tichina and Dawn. They had a lot of fans at the talkback. The show will sell fine without mega stars.
I bleive it's a directors choice on who sings the vocals for brand new day on the OBC it was sung by dorthy and the scarecrow. the one thing I really enjoyed about the film version was the big dance break during the number.
Dorothy has the final verse in the original script/score. In the film she has most of the score, and in this Ashanti had two of the verses in "Brand New Day." The Scarecrow did NOT sing on the OCR.
I don't think Orlando will transfer, not with his TV schedule in LA.
The big thing is while the performances are ok, the physical production needs a LOT of work. The critics weren't kind for it as it is now, and I think they'll slaughter it if it transfers as is.
The show will run without the critic's support. The show will do amazing with the African American audience. Judging by the questions asked at the talkback, most audience members will not read the reviews, or even care.