Jeremy Daniel
I had the great pleasure of seeing the new national tour launch of The Wiz back in 2023. That beginning took the show across the country, then back to Broadway for a limited run, and now with a new cast in place — excepting The Wiz himself, with Alan Mingo Jr. back in the role (replaced during the California and Broadway runs with Wayne Brady) — this classic 1974 musical, based upon the classic L. Frank Baum story The Wizard of Oz, is easing on down the road once again.
You all know the story by now with the Baum book series, the 1939 movie musical, Disney’s ill-fated and now cult classic sequel, various TV and movie incarnations and, of course, the Broadway (and movie) musicals Wicked and Wicked for Good, which all take elements from the source material but each having their own tweaks (a notable one being the fabled ruby slippers, exclusive to the 1939 movie for which MGM owns the copyright). But the basic bones of Baum’s original story are present in The Wiz — young Dorothy is swept away from her Kansas home, where she lives with her Aunt Em (no Uncle Henry, farmhands, Elvira Gulch or Professor Marvel to be seen here), by a twister, depositing her in the magical land of Oz, her house resting atop Evamean, the Wicked Witch of the East. Given the witch’s magical silver slippers (actually more like boots in the show), Glinda the Good Witch sends the girl off to see the Wizard of Oz, a man so powerful that he can surely give her her heart’s desire — to go home. Along the way she meets a talking Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion, all having been cursed by Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, taking a brain, a heart and courage, respectively. When the group arrives at the Emerald City, they are told they will only get what they want if they kill the Wicked Witch of the West, a moral dilemma for Dorothy, but she quickly agrees as she is guilted into committing murder by her new friends who really want back what the witch took from them. Fair trade, right? Spoiler alert — they kill the witch and the Wiz tries to duck out on them because he’s a fraud, but they all learn a lesson that they always had what they wanted, they just needed to believe in themselves.
Jeremy Daniel
Okay, I don’t know if committing murder is the best way to find yourself, but I guess melting a witch is sort of a gray area. Murder aide, The Wiz is still as family friendly as you can get, but the book by William F. Brown, with additional material for this revival provided by Amber Ruffin, still works for adults in the way Pixar makes animated movies for kids but provides enough smartly written material to keep adults engaged. There were a couple of lines that really made me cackle out loud, like when it’s mentioned that a house was used to kill the witch, with the reply being, ‘In THIS economy?!’ Aunt Em and Evillene also have a couple of very funny lines that kids may laugh at but adults will very much appreciate. Also in its favor is the pacing — this story runs very quickly, with Dorothy meeting her new friends, and nearly getting trapped by the Poppies and then then Kalidahs (which are this show’s version of the Flying Monkeys) all in the first act. There’s no chance of getting bored by anything in this production. Director Schele Williams keeps things on track, and gets to slow down a little in Act II, which just consists of the group arriving at Emerald City, meeting The Wiz, encountering Evillene, returning to find The Wiz is a fraud, and Dorothy finally learning her shoes had the ability to take her home the whole time, and Dorothy finally … FINALLY … asks Glinda why she just didn’t tell her than in the first place. (Because it was about the journey, girl.) Charlie Smalls’ music and lyrics feature songs both joyful and heartbreaking, with a couple of showstoppers, and the iconic ‘Ease on Down the Road’. Jaquel Knight has given the cast — and the hardest working ensemble in the business — an amazing array of different dances, with that ensemble taking center stage at the top of Act II, being forced to perform several different dance styles for The Wiz’s pleasure.
What really makes The Wiz special is its use of physical setpieces and a full video wall used to extend the scenery or provide motion during some scenes. A lot of people seem to feel that video walls are cost cutting ways to create sets without having to actually build anything, but The Wiz makes probably the best use of the wall that I’ve ever seen (outside of Peter Pan‘s flight scene), augmenting and extending the sets, making the outdoor scenes appear to stretch off into a three-dimensional distance that would have been difficult with physical sets or just painted backdrops, allowing the movement of clouds, a small waterfall in the Lion’s forest, and lighting changes that are in sync with the physical stage lighting. The physical pieces, like Dorothy’s house, Evillene’s platform and The Wiz’s chair may have seemed much more lonely on a stage with a flat backdrop, but the video wall just makes everything pop … and Scenic Designer Hannah Beachler, Lighting Designer Ryan J. O’Gara, and Video & Projection Designer Daniel Brodie even do a great job of fooling you into thinking the opening scene — actually presented in black-and-white like the classic movie — does feature a flat backdrop. It doesn’t become apparent until the twister hits that it is a video wall. The lighting is also spectacular — and I have to say this production had some of the best follow spots on the actors I’ve ever seen, not a single wobble or lag in tracking the actor — from the flat white lighting of the opening to much more dramatic and colorful lighting as Dorothy travels through the forest, and the group’s arrival at Emerald City and Evillene’s factory. There is also a very nice effect during some of the heart-tugging solos where the overhead spot narrows as the performer ends the song, giving it an even more dramatic feel. If you are the type of person who loves big, colorful Broadway musicals, there is absolutely nothing to complain about here. The Wiz is visually spectacular.
Jeremy Daniel
Also adding to the visual splendor are the costumes and make-up. Sharen Davis’ costumes are just fantastic, and not derivative of the familiar costumes from The Wizard of Oz (MGM actually owns the copyright to the specific color and pattern of Dorothy’s gingham dress and the length and style of her pigtails!), with the Tinman’s costume being visually interesting, the textile printed to appear like metal while giving the actor full movement. Dorothy’s and Aunt Em’s monochrome costumes in the first scene (Dorothy’s costume goes from literal black-and-white to vibrant shades of blue when she lands in Oz) really help sell the effect (and we’ll note the monochrome facade of the house also appears in color at the end of the show). Now, for the 2023 production I had a real problem with the costumes for the Winkies (Evillene’s slaves) when they are freed from their spell. In that production, compared to all of the other fabulous costumes, these were … cheap looking, like sleep sets with tacky fringe down the side of the pantlegs. In this production, those costumes have changed … but I don’t know if it was for the better. Now it looks like they all just came from a Pilates class in their tie-dyed ath-leisureware. Maybe if the colors were more vibrant it would hit differently, but the pastels just didn’t do it for me. I think I preferred the vibrant purple — even with the gold fringe — in the 2023 production. Charles G. LaPointe has done an outstanding job with the main character make-up, especially with Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion and Evillene given their own distinctive looks. On the technical side, everything from direction and choreography to the artistic aspects of sets, lights, costumes and make-up all mesh together perfectly.
But no matter how technically proficient a show is, it’s not going to work without a cast that can bring their characters to life, and boy, does this show have a stellar cast. Phoenix Assata LaFreniere brings a wonderful innocence to the role of Dorothy, while also conveying in the opening scene that she’s experiencing some bullying being the new girl at school. Throughout the show, during her songs beginning with a verse of ‘Soon As I Get Home’, her vocals are often presented in a soft voice, almost over-powered by everyone else in the show, but as her journey goes on, LaFreniere gives Dorothy more strength, which is reflected in her performance and her vocals, and then in her final performance of ‘Home’ … girl tears the house down, belting that song and filling it with so much emotion that when she hits the final note, seeing she’s back in Kansas and simply says ‘home’ it is breathtaking, especially as the stage goes to black as she runs toward the house, just giving that moment all the power it requires. Kyla Jade plays the dual roles of Aunt Em and Evillene, and she gives both characters their own distinct personalities. Aunt Em is, of course, very down home, a real mother figure to Dorothy, and when she sings ‘The Feeling We Once Had’ (joined by Dorothy at the end), you will practically be holding your breath, stunned by the powerhouse vocals and pure emotion she brings to that song. Jade then gets to have fun stomping around the stage and barking at her underlings as Evillene, and again she thrills with the signature number ‘Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News’, rightfully earning the extended ovation from the audience. Sheherazade makes two appearances as Glinda, and she also tears the house down with her vocals for ‘He’s the Wiz’ in Act I and ‘Believe in Yourself’ in Act II.
Jeremy Daniel
Elijah Ahmad Lewis plays Scarecrow (unlike the 1939 movie, there is no correlation for Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion and The Wiz to anyone in Dorothy’s life in Kansas) with a ton of sass, bringing wonderful physicality to the role of a man made of straw and denim, often the comedy relief of the group because of the limitations of his mental capacity, but he can dance and deliver some powerful vocals, namely in his intro number ‘You Can’t Win’. Cal Mitchell is the Lion, and while it should be the showiest role of the three, he almost gets lost in the background (of course when things get tough he does disappear due to his lack of courage). But Mitchell still has a terrific voice and really brings a lot of character to Lion in his big number, ‘Mean Ole Lion’. D. Jerome actually manages to be the focal point of the three Ozians with Dorothy, but you don’t know that at first. He does a great job with his intro number, ‘Slide Some Oil to Me’, showing off his dancing skills as well, but for a character who doesn’t have a heart, he truly provides the heart of the group (even if he is the first one to say ‘let’s kill the witch’). He is the one who grounds the others when things don’t look so great, and then he just stuns you into silence with his Act II number, ‘What Would I Do If I Could Feel’, his eyes welling up with tears that will surely have your own eyes doing the same, that entire performance just punching you in the gut and tugging at your heart, finally allowing you to exhale when he finishes. Jerome gives every ounce of emotion he has to that number, and it pays off with the rapturous applause from the audience. And when the group of four all sing together … heavenly. Alan Mingo Jr. returns to the role of The Wiz, but he’s not seen until Act II when Dorothy and Company are finally allowed to meet him when the guards see her silver shoes. Mingo is a hoot, really using his eyes and facial expressions to great use to say more than words as he addresses Dorothy and Friends, and his intro number, ‘Meet the Wizard’ is great fun with his back-up singers interjecting key words much to his aggravation. Mingo’s Wiz projects an air of haughtiness, appearing as regal as he can be since he’s basically the king of Emerald City (claiming Evillene has let him rule the city, but if anyone ventures outside of its walls, everyone he knows and loves in the city will die … but it later seems this isn’t entirely true), and then shows he’s just a fraud as he’s attempting to flee, addressing the group as just some poor saps who fell for his schtick, amused that they actually murdered someone, really hitting home with his fabulous and fun number ‘Y’all Got It’. The Wiz’s role is almost as small as Glinda’s (which is amusing since he’s literally the title character), but like Sheherazade, Mingo makes the absolute most of his time on stage, holding the audience in his palm of his hand, and the audience just eats it up.
Jeremy Daniel
As mentioned previously, this show has an amazing ensemble cast, playing the twister (in a pretty amazing sort-of modern dance number), the Ozians, crows in the cornfield, Poppies, Kalidahs, the Yellow Brick Road (yes, this ‘road’ is more like sentries the group follows), Evillene’s underlings and Winkies, all eating that stage with their expert interpretations of the choreography, and providing fantastic backing vocals, really getting to show off during the ‘Everybody Rejoice’ number (which I think people know better as ‘Brand New Day’). So I must give them all a shout out for their tireless energy, each and every one of them showing their exuberance on their faces during their performances: Maati Kheprimeni Angaza, Sai Anthony, Lawrence Dandridge, Cyniah Elise, Amitria Fanae’ (who also appears as Addaperle, one of the four Witches of Oz, who is only too happy that a house has flattened Evamean), Gregory Hamilton, Omar Madden, Micah Jeremiah Mims, Nia Nelson-Williams, Charlotte Odusanya, Moriah Perry, Khi’Shawn A’Quez Robinson, Kameren Whigham and Chanse Williams (with Swings Aliyah Caldwell, Robert Crenshaw, Maya Imani, Jesse Jones, Keyon Pickett, Daja M. Rice, and Madison Scott ready to step in at a moments notice as did Caldwell at our performance). This ensemble really helps bring the show to life.
I loved the 2023 production, but I think with time it has gotten even better. The substance of the story hasn’t changed (and the updates just make it feel more contemporary), and all of the musical numbers still hit as they did more than 50 years ago, but the technical aspects, the video wall, the lighting, the costumes, the choreography, the direction and, most of all, the outstanding performances — I really can’t come up without enough superlatives for this exemplary cast — makes this production of The Wiz an absolute joy, exuberant, thrilling, toe-tapping, emotional … well, you get it. This is a show that you just don’t want to miss. This current leg comes to an end in May, but I hope there will be a long life on the road for this show.
The Wiz runs about 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
The Wiz runs through April 12 at Washington DC’s National Theatre. Other cities on the tour include North Charleston, Richmond, Chattanooga, Tulsa, Austin, Oklahoma City and Toledo. Visit the official website for more information. Use our Ticketmaster link to purchase tickets.
The Wiz at The National Theatre
Broadway at The National
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
