THE WIZ Opening Night Critics’ Reviews

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 8:04am

For the first time in decades, THE WIZ returns home to the American stage with an all-new Broadway-bound adaptation. The Pre-Broadway National Tour launched this past September in Baltimore, where the beloved musical premiered 50 years ago. 

Conjuring up an Oz unlike anything ever seen before, the creative team is helmed by director Schele Williams (The Notebook, revival of Disney’s Aida) and includes choreographer JaQuel Knight (Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”), William F. Brown (book), Charlie Smalls (music & lyrics), Amber Ruffin (additional material), Joseph Joubert (music supervision, orchestrations, & music arrangements), Allen René Louis(vocal & music arrangements), Adam Blackstone and Terence Vaughn (dance music arrangements), and Paul Byssainthe Jr. (music direction). They are joined by Academy Award® winner Hannah Beachler (scenic design), two-time Academy Award® nominee Sharen Davis(costumes), Emmy® and Barrymore Award winner Ryan J. O’Gara (lighting), Jon Weston (sound), Daniel Brodie (video & projections), Drama Desk Award winner Charles G. LaPointe (wigs), and Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche (makeup). 

The production opens on Wednesday, April 17 at the Marriott Marquis Theatre on Broadway. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 8:11am

I'm expecting praise for the performances, especially the vocals. Everything else, particularly the lack of decent and strong design elements, will probably not be well received.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 11:55am

Going tonight with an open mind and a booze-filled body.

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 11:58am

TaffyDavenport said: "Going tonight with an open mind and a booze-filled body."

Also what audiences at the Marquis said before seeing Escape From Margaritaville

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 7:21pm

I worry that if this gets pans right after the Lempicka pans, there will be an annoying online discourse about the types of shows getting pans without the obvious answer of neither of the two shows are very good and they just happen to be opening right near each other.

That being said, The Wiz can withstand bad reviews much better than Lempicka and I do think some of the performances will get some praise. 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 7:26pm

Is there any online discourse that isn't annoying?

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 7:59pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Going tonight with an open mind and a booze-filled body."

That’s how you do it ! And scream at the actors love it 

Updated On: 4/16/24 at 07:59 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 9:21pm

Yeah, no, not my style at alI to be loud during the show. Intermission now: poorly directed, cheap-looking, but with spectacular voices that service the songs marvelously and make the show hard to dislike.

Updated On: 4/16/24 at 09:21 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 11:03pm

Was there a fight in the mezz toward the end of the show tonight? I heard loud voices that sounded like yelling but it was far away and couldn’t make it out.  

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 11:12pm

I heard some ruckus way back in the mezzanine to the left of me, but I wasn’t near it. To me, it sounded more like drunk people than a fight.

I enjoyed the show, and would recommend it. Like I said before, the voices, particularly Nichelle Lewis’s, are f*cking top-tier, and I also enjoyed Amber Ruffin’s updates to the book, as well as the choreography. Overall, I think it delivers on what it’s selling.

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 12:14am

How many more decades to wait until we get a decent revival of this   :(

[Mitch101]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 5:18pm

A very talented cast, who never knew a vocal riff they couldn’t sing, in one of the most cheap and misguided revivals in years. All blame must rest with the inept director who also tortured us with The Notebook. Dear producers… fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice…

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 10:09pm

Variety:

‘The Wiz’ Review: In a New Broadway Revival, Dorothy and Friends Get Lost in a Hypercolor Whirligig

https://variety.com/2024/legit/reviews/the-wiz-review-broadway-revival-1235973899/

"Part of the problem may be technical; it is often difficult to hear Smalls’ lyrics over the orchestra’s wall of sound except when the actors are belting over it. That includes Deborah Cox, whose instrument is unmistakable but overpowered in her first appearance as Glinda. Lewis, who has an appealing, delicate voice and a modest presence, comes to feel like a background player in her own adventure (perhaps ditching Toto from the script doesn’t help). Among the principals, Richardson is a standout with his liquid, riffy take on “What Would I Do if I Could Feel” and joint-swiveling way with JaQuel Knight’s invigorating choreography."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 10:56pm

NY Stage Review

THE WIZ: NOT AN OZ-PICIOUS REVIVAL

By Bob Verini

★★☆☆☆ A revival's choices elicit more head-scratching than cheering

https://nystagereview.com/2024/04/17/the-wiz-not-an-oz-picious-revival/

 

THE WIZ: REVIVAL DOESN’T EASE DOWN THE ROAD EASILY

By David Finkle

★★★☆☆ Nichelle Lewis is Dorothy in Amber Ruffin's revamping of the audience favorite

https://nystagereview.com/2024/04/17/the-wiz-revival-doesnt-ease-down-the-road-easily/

Updated On: 4/17/24 at 10:56 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:01pm

NYT: Maya Phillips is mixed:

Review: ‘The Wiz’ Eases Back to Broadway

Almost 50 years after it debuted, this classic Black take on “The Wizard of Oz” tries to update its original formula.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/theater/the-wiz-review-broadway.html

"All of which is to say that “The Wiz” is a pleasant, serviceable time at the theater, but as a new production of a musical with a legacy of bringing Blackness to one of Hollywood’s and Broadway’s favorite fairy tales, it’s less satisfying."

Updated On: 4/17/24 at 11:01 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:03pm

EW gives it an A:

The Wiz review: Run, don't ease, on down the road to this spectacular revival of the classic musical

A sensational cast, including Deborah Cox and Wayne Brady, as well as a few notable updates, makes this perhaps the best iteration of "The Wiz" yet

https://ew.com/the-wiz-broadway-revival-review-8635100

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:04pm

Slant:

The Wiz Review: Despite Stunning Performances, New Revival Eases Aimlessly Down the Road

A smarter, warmer, bolder revival of The Wiz remains tantalizingly out of reach.

https://www.slantmagazine.com/theater/the-wiz-broadway-revival-review/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:07pm

NY Post: Two stars

‘The Wiz’ Broadway review: We’re off to see the cheap national tour!

https://nypost.com/2024/04/17/entertainment/the-wiz-broadway-review-were-off-to-see-the-cheap-natl-tour/

"Hannah Beachler’s sets are so cheap and unremarkable, and Daniel Brodie’s artificial-intelligence-style projections so prominent, that the overwhelming vibe is that we and the tour are actually still stuck in Kansas. We’re certainly not on Broadway."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:08pm

AMNY:

Review | ‘The Wiz’ — Lost along the yellow brick road

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/theater/review-the-wiz-revival/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:10pm

The Wrap:

‘The Wiz’ Broadway Review: The Original Was Never This Much Fun

A new spiffed-up revival features the funniest-ever Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man

https://www.thewrap.com/the-wiz-broadway-review-funniest-lion-scarecrow-tin-man/

"the actors and dancers in this “Wiz” carry the show magnificently, with Kyle Ramar Freeman’s Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson’s Tin Man and Avery Wilson’s Scarecrow the funniest trio of misfits ever to take us on this trip to Oz. Watching these three actors outperform each other is a friendly competition not to be missed. This kind of ensemble doesn’t come out of nowhere and credit must go to director Schele Williams. But the secret sauce here is Amber Ruffin, who’s credited with “additional material for this production.” No way did William F. Brown’s book for the original 1974 Broadway production of “The Wiz” offer this many inspired one-liners. Ruffin provides a lot of great stand-up, put-down humor for Melody A. Betts’ wonderful Evilene (a Wicked Witch) and Allyson Kaye Daniel’s equally terrific Addaperle (a Good Witch). Leading the Munchkins, Daniel sets the stage afire until Wilson, Richardson and Freeman come aboard to burn it down completely."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:11pm

Chicago Tribune:

Review: ‘The Wiz’ on Broadway is freshened up and ready for an adoring audience

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/04/17/review-the-wiz-on-broadway-is-freshened-up-and-ready-for-an-adoring-audience/

"Ruffin, a capable wit, has freshened up the book although not invasively so. And the three friends of Dorothy who follow those yellow bricks toward self-actualization, Avery Wilson’s Scarecrow, Phillip Johnson Richardson’s Tinman (the most moving I’ve seen) and Kyle Ramar Freeman’s Lion, cowardly variety, really are the heart of this particular revival and they’re a delightful quartet when they carry along Nichelle Lewis’ much improved Dorothy."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:13pm

Washington Post:

‘The Wiz’ is more about having fun than creating a cohesive story

The new Broadway revival is charming, but at the cost of a broader artistic vision

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater/2024/04/17/wiz-broadway-review/

"the sound of the music is overwhelming. The vocals of any given performer are frequently swallowed by swooping orchestrations. Song after song, vocalists belt to be heard (Deborah Cox, who plays Glinda, was nearly inaudible during her verse on “He’s the Wiz,” a real shame given her riches of ability.) With performers forced to sing-shout, the routine grows increasingly familiar.

Choices by director Schele Williams are similarly frustrating. The revival lacks a synergy across images. Projections and props to move us through locations make Oz look generic and cheap."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:15pm

Village Voice:

Review: A New Production of ‘The Wiz’ Brings Oz Back to Broadway

Though occasionally too high-pitched, the revival delivers feeling and flash.

https://www.villagevoice.com/review-a-new-production-of-the-wiz-brings-oz-back-to-broadway/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:16pm

NY Sun:

There’s No Place Like Broadway: Revival of ‘The Wiz’ Arrives at a Busy Time for Musical Theater

Part of what makes this ‘Wiz’ appealing, especially right now, is that it doesn’t ask you to admire its social relevance — which was considerable when it had its premiere five decades ago.

https://www.nysun.com/article/theres-no-place-like-broadway-revival-of-the-wiz-arrives-at-a-busy-time-for-musical-theater

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/17/24 at 11:20pm

This is as bad as it gets.