Well here we have it. We have been waiting for the additional cast members of the highly anticipated The Wiz Live on NBC scheduled to air Dec. 3rd. So, not to delay, award winning singer-songwriter Ne-Yo will ease on down the road as the “Tinman”. Accompanying him will be Elijah Kelley (Lee Daniels’ “The Butler”) as the “Scarecrow”. Both roles were just announced via producer Craig Zadan. Shanice Williams will play “Dorothy” and David Alan Grier will be “The Cowardly Lion”, as previously announced. Once they actually get to Oz however, rapper and actor Common will be there waiting for them as “The Gatekeeper”.
Whew! Ok, all of this star power is sort of overwhelming, in a good way, and it doesn’t end there. Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah & Grammy Award winner Mary J. Blige are also in the cast of The Wiz Live. Latifah will play “The Wiz”, a role originated on stage by the incomparable Andre De Shields (Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Full Monty). Blige will portray the role of “Evillene”, the horrible wicked witch known for the upbeat “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.” In addition to Stephanie Mills as “Aunt Em,” Uzo Aduba as Glinda The Good Witch, and Amber Riley as Addaperle, also previously announced.
Tony Award winner Kenny Leon will direct & Fatima Robinson will choreograph, as previously announced. The show will also head to Broadway in 2016 with Leon directing. The Wiz for NBC will partner with Cirque du Soleil to bring the live and Broadway productions to life. The original book of the show was written by William F. Brown. This time around, Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein will add new material to the book.
Universal Television will produce. Casting for both the NBC telecast and Cirque du Soleil‘s Broadway production will be announced at a later date.
