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Last Thursday was a celebration for quite a few things. One of my best friends landed a great gig at an awesome company and The Wiz Live aired on NBC. I've been waiting for this to air since they started talking about it months ago and I was not disappointed.
The cast was phenomenal! Shanice Williams did a great job as Dorothy, Ne-Yo and Elijah Kelly crushed it as the Tin Man and Scarecrow, and David Alan Grier pleasantly surprised me with his take on the Cowardly Lion. Queen Latifah and Uzo Aduba weren't on stage often but when they were they killed it! Common was another one who had a small role, but his quips were funny and he looked great! Stephanie Mills came full circle with her performance of Aunt Em, it was amazing to see her go from playing Dorothy in the 70's version of the stage play, to seeing her play the aunt in this version. Amber's vocals were perfection and Mary J. Blige's performance of No Bad News was everything I thought it would be.
They stayed true to the plot, but kept things fresh and current with the music and dance numbers. Fatima Robinson was the principle choreographer and she did not disappoint. The costumes were GORGEOUS! They made me want to take a trip to Emerald City for a night. I also loved the use of the LCD screens to help out the set.
Of course there were a few complaints; Toto was gone for 95% of the show, I felt like it ended abruptly (like they ran short on time) and where were the colorful horses? I know that everything couldn't be included, but I felt like they did a great job. I almost don't want to dignify the following stupidity with a comment, but there were complaints about this stage production being composed of an all black cast. Well aside from the fact that there were background singers and dancers who were other ethnicities, the Wiz is supposed to be an all black cast. The Wizard of Oz was an all white cast and there was no issue with that, so there shouldn't be an issue with this one being an all black cast. I saw this clip onFacebook, and I feel like he put this best.
Did any of y'all watch the show live on Thursday? Or have you seen it onNBC TVEsince? Comment below and let me know!
