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When Worlds Collide – “The Oz Project”

What if “Dorothy” from THE WIZARD OF OZ and her counterpart “Dorothy” from THE WIZ  went on the same journey together?

Awesome stuff from some of those Broadway folks – directed by Sean Barrett.

Who doesn’t love both? Very  creative. Bravo.

Here’s the video description:

The Oz Project is a love letter to THE WIZARD OF OZ and THE WIZ created by some of their diehard fans at heart. This 10-minute music video follows the parallel journeys of the Dorothy character in each adaptation as they both get whisked away in the same tornado, land in their respective versions of Oz, and follow their own yellow brick road. Their stories are interwoven as the two classic versions are combined through their well-loved scores, and sung by some of the greatest voices on Broadway.

The cast includes: Kate Rockwell, Brynn Williams, Joshua Henry, Rob McClure, Nancy Opel, Liz Larsen, Mykal Kilgore, James T. Lane, Ryan VanDenBoom, Grasan Kingsberry, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Ben Jacoby, Jennie Harney, Natalie Joy Johnson, Ashlee Dupre, Patrice Covington, Alan Wiggins, Julia Knitel, Marty Thomas, Louis Jones, Gabrielle Reed.

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NBC’s Twitter Feed Killed Last Night During “The Wiz Live”

Not only was NBC’s magical The Wiz Live! most marvelous, whoever they let run the network’s Twitter feed was on fire for the gays! Read just a sample of the twitter shizzle below:

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First Trailer For “The Wiz Live!”

After The Sound of Music Live and Peter Pan Live, NBC “eases down the road” to Oz with a new live production of the 1970s hit musical, The Wiz Live!.

Starring Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Common, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley, Stephanie Mills, Amber Riley, Uzo Aduba and Shanice Williams as Dorothy.

Airs December 3rd.

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Original & 2015 THE WIZ Stars Duet On “Home”

Even though the cast is knee-deep in the middle of rehearsals for the upcoming December 3rd broadcast of The Wiz Live!, Entertainment Weekly got a chance to capture a moment between two “Dorothies” – Shanice Williams, who portrays the young girl from Kansas in the upcoming holiday special, and Stephanie Mills, Broadway’s original “Dorothy,” who takes on the role of “Auntie Em.”

Mills had this to say about her WIZ co-star: “Shanice has all the innocence and purity that Dorothy should have. She’s 19 years old and she’s just wonderful in that role. I’m glad she’s basically an unknown, because she’s not tainted by anything; she’s pure.”

Almost 40 years later, Mills is still golden. Watch below.

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Teaser: The Wiz LIVE!

First teaser for NBC’s The Wiz Live!, starring Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Shanice Williams, David Alan Grier, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Common and more,

Nice to see the network swing into some diversity here with it’s third holiday musical presentation after The Sound of Music and Peter Pan.


Loving the costume design.

Thursday, December 3 at 8/7c on NBC.

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Stephanie Mills To Appear In Upcoming TV Production of THE WIZ

I love when these things work out. Stephanie Mills is returning to OZ.

Mills, who created the role of ‘Dorothy’ in the original 1979 Broadway production of The Wiz, will play ‘Aunt Em’ in the upcoming TV production, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Producer Bob Greenblatt also announced that the network is looking for a “fresh face” to star as Dorothy.

As previously reported, entering into a partnership with NBC on The Wiz — to be executive-produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron — is Cirque du Soleil, whose new stage theatrical division will co-produce the live TV event and then present it as a major Broadway revival for the 2016-17 season.

The Wiz Live! will air Dec. 3 on NBC.

(via Playbill)

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NBC Announces THE WIZ For Live TV Telecast, Then Major Broadway Revival

NBC announced today that The Wiz (winner of 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical in 1975) will be the next Live musical production on the network with an airdate of December 3rd.

That will be followed by a major Broadway revival to be co-produced with Cirque du Soleil for the 2016-17 season.

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who produced the previous “The Sound of Music Live” and “Peter Pan Live” telecasts, are back at the helm for this third live, musical presentation.

Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon will stage both the television production and Broadway revival of “The Wiz” in collaboration with Tony winner and Broadway icon Harvey Fierstein, who will contribute new material to the original Broadway book by William F. Brown.

“We love this yearly tradition and we’re more excited than ever to not only bring another Broadway musical to America’s living rooms, but also see it land on Broadway as well,” said Greenblatt. “It’s a natural next step for our live musical events and we’re so pleased to be in business with this award-winning creative team and Scott Zeiger, President and Managing Director of Cirque du Soleil’s new theatrical division. Cirque’s incredible imagination will help bring the fantasy world of Oz vividly to life and give this great show a modern spin on the age-old story we all love.”

“We are delighted that NBC and Cirque du Soleil will present ‘The Wiz,'” said Zeiger. “It’s a musical I have wanted to produce for years and it’s the perfect show to present under the new Cirque du Soleil Theatrical banner.”

Additional creative staff and casting are to be announced at a later date.

I’ve had mixed feelings about the first two Live musical telecasts, but love the idea of Cirque being involved here.

The Wiz is a terrific score, but as a book musical it remains a bit dated today. With both Cirque and Harvey Fierstein onboard, it sounds promising that the contemporary musical can be brought current again, with new magic added.

The musical made a star out of Stephanie Mills, who went on to a successful recording career after the run of The Wiz on Broadway.

In 1989 she revisited the song “Home,” that made her famous. Watch below.

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Barbra Streisand – unreleased “Home” from The Wiz

Streisand initially recorded “Home” for The Broadway Album in 1985, which marked a best-selling and hugely-acclaimed return to her theatrical roots after years devoted to singing contemporary pop songs. For undisclosed reasons the track wasn’t included.

Word is, while listening to her powerful 25-year-old vocals on the track, Streisand decided to re-record the bass, drums, and piano in order to fully realize the potential of the more uptempo arrangement of the popular standard, which serves as a sort of answer to “(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, the source material for the 1974 musical.

Streisand, a noted perfectionist, even enlisted the same three musicians who had played on the original session for the song to maintain continuity.

The new CD Release Me will be available on September 25. Click here to order on Amazon.

Via The Advocate