The Wiz Live! (2015)

A live production of the 1975 Broadway musical, "The Wiz," which put a modern spin on the classic "Wizard of Oz" tale with a cast of African-American actors.

Directors:

Matthew Diamond, Kenny Leon

Writers:

William F. Brown (book), Harvey Fierstein

Stars:

Common, Amber Riley, Uzo Aduba

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 3 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Common	...	The Bouncer
Amber Riley	...	Addapearle
Uzo Aduba	...	Glinda the Good Witch of the South
Stephanie Mills	...	Auntie Em
Elijah Kelley	...	Scarecrow
Ne-Yo	...	Tin-Man
David Alan Grier	...	The Cowardly Lion
Mary J. Blige	...	Evillene
Shanice Williams	...	Dorothy Gale
Queen Latifah	...	The Wiz
Chris Borrero	...	Ensemble / Cirque
Olutayo Bosede	...	Ensemble
James Brown III	...	Crow
Ilia Jessica Castro	...	Ensemble
Kacie Noel Garland	...	Ensemble

Storyline

A live production of the 1975 Broadway musical, "The Wiz," which put a modern spin on the classic "Wizard of Oz" tale with a cast of African-American actors.

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Plot Keywords:

live broadcast | wizard of oz | 

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Taglines:

Ease on down the road to Oz!

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 2015 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Grumman Studios, Bethpage, Long Island, New York, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Alan Grier played the Wiz in a 2006 La Jolla Playhouse production of the musical. The rest of the cast included actors of different ethnicities, which Grier called as unusual as "an all-Filipino episode of Empire (2015)."

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Quotes

[repeated lines]
Dorothy Gale: [singing] C'mon and ease on down, ease on down the road! C'mon and ease on down, ease on down the road! Don't you carry nothin' that might be a load! C'mon, ease on down, ease on down the road!

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Mindy Kaling/Daisy Ridley/Gwen Stefani (2015)

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Soundtracks

The Feeling We Once Had
Written by Charlie Smalls
Performed by Stephanie Mills

User Reviews

So you wanted to meet the wizard!

He's the wizard!!!

Back in the year 1978 the world was introduced to a new kind of land of OZ, this time with a jazzy soul twist, based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name! Now today 37 years later we get to relive the magic and emotion all over again! Tonight NBC let us relive the magical trip down the yellow brick road, for a whole new generation. This is an event for the whole family to enjoy all together.

This star powered cast makes this trip worth while. This production opened to a beautiful set of the little farm house in Kansas we've all grown to know and love. The cameras set on Aunt Em; played by the extremely talented Stephanie Mills. Mills is a Broadway veteran who at age fifteen won the starring role as Dorothy in the hit Broadway show 'The Wiz'. I found my self tearing up as she sang her first note. This was so beautifully sung,, such a powerful voice.