- Featuring an all-Black cast, The Wiz is still iconic!
The Wiz starred Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Richard Pryor, Mabel King, and Lena Horne and premiered on October 24, 1978. The Wiz was directed by Sidney Lumet with music by Quincy Jones and featured an all-Black cast. It was the most expensive musical ever made at the time and remains a staple and a source of inspiration for the culture.
In this article
The Wiz is basically a Black retelling of L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Its first installment was a 1975 musical adaptation—which was written by William F. Brown, produced by Ken Harper, and featured iconic music/lyrics by Charlie Smalls. It opened at Baltimore’s Morris A. Mechanic Theatre before moving to the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. In 1978, a big-money all-Black film adaptation of The Wiz was released—followed by a revival of the original Broadway production in 2015.
Listen to director Sidney Lumet discuss the making of The Wiz.
From the music, characters, costumes, set design, and everything else in between, what is y’alls favorite element of The Wiz? And I know that’s not a fair question cause it’s hard for me to pick only one. Shoot, all of the above.
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