The Wiz is a musical by Charlie Smalls, later adapted by William F. Brown as a book. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture.
The original 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-black cast. The musical has had revivals in New York, London, San Diego and the Ne...
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The Wiz is a musical by Charlie Smalls, later adapted by William F. Brown as a book. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture.
The original 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-black cast. The musical has had revivals in New York, London, San Diego and the Netherlands, and an off-Broadway Encores! concert version was staged in June 2009. A film adaptation was released in 1978.
The idea for the musical originated with producer Ken Harper. He replaced the original director with Geoffrey Holder, in Detroit during out-of-town tryouts. Although he considered closing the show after opening night on Broadway, a publicity campaign and favorable audience reaction led to a four-year Broadway run and two tours The musical opened on Broadway on January 5, 1975, with Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, Hinton Battle...
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