‘The Wiz’ Will be NBC’s Next Live Musical
Following in the footsteps of “The Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan,” NBC announced its next live-event musical will be an adaptation of 1975’s “The Wiz” airing December 3.
This time, however, it looks like the brass at NBC is looking to break out of the super-traditional format it used with its previous musicals, and get creative. Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will oversee the production, along with Cirque du Soleil, so you can bet plenty of acrobatic theatrics will be present. In an interesting move, the same production will be mounted on Broadway as a revival during the 2016-17 season.
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Tony-winner and general Broadway linchpin Harvey Fierstein will create new material for the production, which is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz featuring an African-American cast.
https://twitter.com/nbc/status/582654792310259712
The original musical premiered in 1975 and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It spawned the 1978 film of the same name starring Diana Ross, a young Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, and Richard Pryor, which has since become a cult favorite but was less than a hit with critics.
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When NBC debuted “The Sound of Music” in December 2013, more than 18 million people tuned it, as opposed to a little over 9 million for 2014’s “Peter Pan
broadcast. Some blamed it on the musical’s star power: Carrie Underwood versus Allison Williams, so it’ll be interesting to see who the network casts in “The Wiz.” We’re banking on some pretty big names, not just in theater, but in pop music.
