It was Broadway Week at The Today Show, and for the Friday finale, the cast of The Wiz dropped by to perform "Ease On Down the Road" and "He's the Wiz." Watch the performances below.
The production opened at Broadway's Marquis Theatre April 17 after beginning previews March 29, capping off a pre-Broadway tour that began last year. Schele Williams (The Notebook) is at the helm. Choreography is by JaQuel Knight.
Newcomer Nichelle Lewis stars as Dorothy, joined in the cast by Wayne Brady (Kinky Boots) as The Wiz (through June 12), Deborah Cox as Glinda, Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em and Evillene, Kyle Ramar Freeman (A Strange Loop) as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson (Sharper) as the Tinman, and Avery Wilson (The Voice) as the Scarecrow.
See Lewis, Freeman, Richardson, and Wilson sing "Ease On Down the Road":
Cox leads the company in "He's the Wiz":
If you missed any of the earlier Broadway Week performances, check out numbers from The Notebook, Suffs, Hell's Kitchen, and The Outsiders.
The Wiz, featuring a score by Charlie Smalls and a book by William F. Brown, premiered on Broadway in 1975, transforming L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel into an all-Black "super soul musical," as it was originally billed. The musical made the jump to the big screen in 1978 with a film adaptation starring Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson, and, reprising his Broadway performance as the Cowardly Lion, Ted Ross.
This new revival features additional material by 2023 Tony Award nominee Amber Ruffin, making The Wiz the comic's second theatrical outing following her work co-writing the Tony-nominated book to Broadway's Some Like It Hot with Matthew López.
READ: When Starring in a Broadway-Bound National Tour Starts With a TikTok Video
Joseph Joubert is providing music supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements, with dance arrangements by Adam Blackstone and Terence Vaugn, vocal arrangements by Allen René Louis, music direction by Paul Byssainthe Jr., scenic design by Hannah Beachler, costume design by Sharen Davis, lighting design by Ryan J. O'Gara, video and projection design by Daniel Brodie, sound design by Jon Weston, wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, and makeup design by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche. Casting is by Tara Rubin and Olivia Paige West. Ralph Stan Lee serves as production stage manager.
WATCH: Deborah Cox Sings 'Believe in Yourself' from The Wiz on Tamron Hall
Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, Ambassador Theatre Group, Kandi Burruss, and Todd Tucker are producing.
Visit WizMusical.com.
Kyle Ramar Freeman, Nichelle Lewis, Phillip Johnson Richardson, and Avery Wilson in The Wiz
Nichelle Lewis, Avery Wilson, and company of The Wiz
Kyle Ramar Freeman, Nichelle Lewis, Wayne Brady, Phillip Johnson Richardson, and Avery Wilson
Nichelle Lewis and Melody Betts in The Wiz
Melody A. Betts and company of The Wiz
Deborah Cox in The Wiz
Phillip Johnson Richardson in The Wiz
Nichelle Lewis and Deborah Cox in The Wiz
Wayne Brady
Wayne Brady
Company of The Wiz
Kyle Ramar Freeman, Avery Wilson, Nichelle Lewis, and Phillip Johnson Richardson in The Wiz
Deborah Cox, Nichelle Lewis, and company of The Wiz
Wayne Brady
Kyle Ramar Freeman and Nichelle Lewis in The Wiz
Wayne Brady
