The House of Dorothy reigns supreme in ‘The Wiz’ with Wayne Brady in the titular role
Nearly 50 years after it first opened on Broadway, "The Wiz" returns to ease on down the road.
The Rundown
Dorothy’s back on Broadway in a reimagined revival of The Wiz. Does the fresh take with new material by Amber Ruffin and movement by Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” choreographer JaQuel Knight ease on down the road? For the most part, with a few stumbles along the way.
The original production of The Wiz opened in 1975 and ran 1,672 performances, winning seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The 1978 film adaption starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson centered the story in contemporary New York City, was critically panned, and lost a cool $10 million at the box office. The live TV version (2015) introduced the musical to a new generation of Oz lovers, and now, a national tour has settled into the Marquis Theatre for a limited run before heading back out on tour later this year.
Queer talent abounds, including Wayne Brady as The Wiz, Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow, and Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Cowardly Lion, along with a breakout performance by Nichelle Lewis as a modern-day Dorothy.
No Tea, No Shade
The Wiz gets off to a bumpy start, with a slowly paced first scene in Kansas (despite powerhouse vocals by Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em), followed by a tornado that feels more like a light breeze on a cloudy day. But when Dorothy (a sassy and sweet-natured Nichelle Lewis) picks up her band of emotionally-deprived travel companions, the Land of Oz comes to life.
Ruffin, nominated for a Tony Award for co-writing Some Like It Hot with Matthew Lopez, told the New York Times she wanted to reexamine the material “through the Blackest of Black lenses for Black’s sake.”
Her refresh pays off with punchy reads, like when the foursome arrives at Oz, and a pair of smart-mouthed gatekeepers put them in their place. (“Girl, no! You’re an 8-year-old traveling with talking garbage and a dusty cat! You’ve got some unpacking to do.”)
The show’s biggest names — Wayne Brady as The Wiz and Deborah Cox as Glinda — appear less frequently, but their pop-up performances bring the star power and presence you’d expect.
Less consistent are the musical’s visual elements. Daniel Brodie’s video and projection designs do most of the heavy lifting and offer a kaleidoscope of visuals, with much of it influenced by Black hairstyles. But scenic designer Hannah Beachler’s three-dimensional pieces fall flat, clunkily rolling on and offstage and obstructing the more captivating imagery behind them.
A deeper look reveals historical references like Adinkra symbols carved into trees, but unlike the 2022 revival of Death of a Salesman, which centered the Lohman family amid the Great Migration and framed its placement for audiences in the program and online, some may find The Wiz a confusing mixture of unidentifiable references. Costume designer Sharen Davis — Oscar-nominated for Dreamgirls and Ray — also runs the gamut, sourcing an eye-catching array of jewel-toned textiles (minus the tie-dye), but the ensemble’s wildly disparate silhouettes conflate the imaginary world of Oz.
Knight’s choreography is similarly disparate, at times electrifying and at others a pastiche of familiar lyrical styles. The yellow brick road, embodied as a New Orleans second line parade, lacks context, while the show’s most exuberant number, “Everybody Rejoice,” only kicks in once Adam Blackstone and Terence Vaughn’s dance arrangements supercharge the demise of Eviline, the Wicked Witch of the West. Knight’s work shines brightest when it sheds any preconceived ideas about what musical theater choreography should be.
Let’s Have a Moment
The House of Dorothy never looked better. The troubled teen realizes her life can only be as beautiful as she’s willing to make it, which prompts those famous heel clicks back to Kansas — but her new besties are so damned fun, who’d want to leave?
Avery Wilson as the loose-limbed Scarecrow, Philip Johnson Richardson as the suave Tin Man, and Kyle Ramar Freeman as the emotionally fragile Cowardly Lion make for an unforgettable strut down the yellow brick road. Each has a breakout moment, with Act I’s finale, “Be a Lion,” delivering a soaring anthem for chosen family.
But what’s any iteration of Oz without a captivating Dorothy? Lewis, making her Broadway debut, puts her own stamp on a role previously defined by its originator, Stephanie Mills. Lewis delivers the goods in the show’s final number, singing, “We must look inside our hearts to find a world full of love, like yours, like mine … like home!”
The Last Word
Wayne Brady, who returns to Broadway for the fourth time, recently appeared on The View and spoke of the show’s impact.
“Especially for my generation, growing up, watching The Wiz, it was inspirational and aspirational,” Brady said. “You see these depictions of a fantastical Black life that, to be honest, depending on where you are, we aren’t allowed the agency to dream and have fantasies.”
“So, seeing these people dressed up as the Lion and the Wizard and doing this thing, I knew that I wanted to be like them,” Brady said. “I didn’t know how I was going to get from Orlando all the way to Broadway, but I knew I was going to do it someday.”
It’s not just Beyoncé having a renaissance. Riffs on The Wizard of Oz continue to captivate new generations. Wicked celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023. Sam Pinkleton’s recent adaptation at San Francisco’s at American Conservatory Theater went into queer overdrive, and all eyes are on the part one of the Wicked film adaption releasing later this year.
The Wiz, despite some headwinds, stands tall in the crowd, proving that fantasy never goes out of style.
The Wiz plays at the Marquis Theatre in New York City through August 18.
What's Your Reaction?
