In less than three weeks, we will be able to relish the glory of this production. The cast is like the Broadway Black version of The Avengers, bringing together our favorite veterans to give life to the revamped 2015 version of The Wiz. Shanice Williams leads us through the streets of Oz as “Dorothy”, Queen Latifah serves as the powerful, yet powerless legend: “The Wiz”, Mary J. Blige is “Evillene” (The Wicked Witch of the West), David Alan Grier searches for courage as the “Cowardly Lion”, Uzo Aduba is “Glinda”, Amber Riley is “Addaperle”, Stephanie Mills joins the company as “Auntie Em”, Elijah Kelley finally gets his brain as the “Scarecrow”, Common is the “Bouncer”, and Ne-Yo gets loose as the “Tin Man”. In the midst of so many talented stars, it’s no surprise that creativity produced magic. Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, music producer Harvey Mason, Jr., and music director Stephen Oremus, co-wrote a new song that will be featured in the show.

My concerns are abated; this production is going to be fantastic. Will you be watching?

The post The Wiz Live! Debuts a New Commerical! appeared first on Broadway Black.

Get ready to hit the road with this star-studded cast in #TheWiz! https://t.co/DmoZVHGiKT pic.twitter.com/V4dVpcRoty

— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) November 2, 2015

Now we have a bit of news that’s so wonderful, we couldn’t wait to share it! Ne-Yo, who has been cast as the “Tin Man,” is not only a wonderful singer and dancer but a prolific songwriter. He has penned hits such as “Let Me Love You” for Mario, Rihanna’s “Unfaithful” and “Take a Bow” and Beyonce’s girl power anthem “Irreplaceable.” Elijah Kelley, who has been cast as “Scarecrow,” is also a phenomenal singer, dancer and actor known for roles in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and the film adaptation of “Hairspray.”  These two got together with members of “The Wiz Live!” creative team, hitmaking super producer Harvey Mason, Jr. and Broadway musical director and orchestrator Stephen Oremus, and have written a brand new song for “The Wiz Live!” This tantalizing information was announced during a Q&A session at the Apple Store in Soho. The new song is a part of the effort to make this version of the beloved adaption of “The Wizard of Oz” fresh and exciting for new audiences. Fans can expect to hear the song sung by the yellow brick quartet of “Dorothy,” “Cowardly Lion,” “Tin Man,” and “Scarecrow.”

We cannot wait to hear the new music and look forward to the live performance of “The Wiz Live!” on NBC. It has been a favorite of audiences for years and we are sure that this new iteration of an iconic Black classic will be just as delectable as the original that we know and love.

Pre-order the album from Amazon HERE!

The post Ne-Yo & Elijah Kelley Pen New Song for The Wiz Live! appeared first on Broadway Black.

The post NBC Takes Us Behind The Yellow Brick Road With The Making of The Wiz Live! appeared first on Broadway Black.

On the “Today Show,” Aduba, best known for her Emmy-winning portrayal of “Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren” on the hit Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black,” discussed the moment she received the call telling her that she got the part, saying “I just could not believe that they offered me the job. What a company to be a part of, just an amazing cast of people. And just to be a part of this show, I’m excited.”

Aduba also mentioned how three years ago she was crying on the subway returning from an audition when she decided to quit show business and re-train as a lawyer after a stretch of not receiving any roles. But, 45 minutes later, she got a phone call telling her that she was up for the role of “Crazy Eyes.” Of course, that seminal moment changed her life. Quoting the song “Believe in Yourself” from The Wiz, she says, “If you do believe, anything is possible.”

“Getting to go into the Wiz and to sing a song like ‘if you believe’ seems all that more impactful,” she says.

Meanwhile, Grier, who’s been cast as “The Cowardly Lion,” (and is HILARIOUS in The Carmichael Show, by the way) appeared in the production’s first promo. In the first preview for the live performance, Grier discusses his role and how he expects it to be groundbreaking.

“I’m really excited to be playing the cowardly lion,” he says. “More importantly, my daughter said, ‘Daddy, are you going to look like a lion lion?’ I said it’s going to be a little different: I’m going to have dreads. We’re doing a whole new vision of the lion.”

He also has another commercial where he talks about telling his friends & family exactly how they’ll be able to watch him in The Wiz Live. Just FYI, there are no tickets! It’s on television. NBC to be exact.

As previously announced, Grier and Aduba join a star-studded cast that includes Stephanie Mills, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Amber Riley, Elijah Kelly, Common, Ne-Yo, and newcomer Shanice Williams. Tony Award winner Kenny Leon will direct and Fatima Robinson will choreograph. The show will also head to Broadway in 2016 with Leon directing. The Wiz will partner with Cirque du Soleil to bring both 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. The show will be executive produced by The Sound of Music and Peter Pan duo Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

The post Uzo Aduba & David Alan Grier Get Ready for The Wiz Live appeared first on Broadway Black.

The film seeks to place a spotlight on the dismal recurrence of gun violence in the Chicago neighborhood of Englewood, and stars Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack, Jennifer Hudson, Angela Bassett, Dave Chappelle, and Common.  As politicians including the city’s Alderman and Mayor have rushed to chime in on their disapproval of the film’s title, there is no doubt that Lee’s choice has struck a chord. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel who has been dogged by many high profile shootings during his tenure, met with Lee in April. Said the Mayor,

We had an honest, frank conversation… He said that while the movie is about the neighborhood of Englewood, I was clear that I was not happy about the title. I told him also that there are very good people that live in Englewood who are raising their family and there’s a lot of positive things that are happening in Englewood mainly driven by the people that make up Englewood.

Alderman William Burns had more criticism for the name stating,

These are communities where people are doing the right thing, people trying to have a decent neighborhood. Having a movie called ‘Chi-raq’ will make it much more difficult for folks like me and other aldermen to bring economic development to those neighborhoods. Who wants to live in a place that people call Chi-raq?

The Alderman went so far as to suggest that Lee should not receive a $3 million tax break for filming there.

“Part of the deal with the tax credit is that the film production company has to prove that the film will have a positive economic impact on the state of Illinois…And I think by calling a whole part of the city of Chicago ‘Chi-raq,’ that will make it hard to bring economic development to those communities, to bring jobs to those communities, and will therefore have a negative economic impact on the state of Illinois. And for that reason, they should deny it.”

An unbothered Lee responded with the brutal facts via Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee)

With all of the fervor around the name, one of the most interesting parts of the movie still speaks of Lee’s genius and creativity. The film is reportedly a musical comedy based upon Aristophanes’ comedy, Lysistrata.  “Lysistrata” persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace ending the war.  The power of…unity… indeed! It’s exciting to wonder how Lee will weave this classic comedy into the modern day ails of a staggeringly violent city, nicknamed Chi-raq.

The post Politicians Attack Spike Lee Over Upcoming Film, Chi-raq appeared first on Broadway Black.

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.

JUST IN: @Elijah_Kelley is the Scarecrow. @NeyoCompound is the Tin Man & @common is the Oz Gatekeeper in #TheWizLive

A photo posted by BroadwayBlack (@broadwayblack) on Aug 13, 2015 at 10:04am PDT

The post Ne-Yo, Common, & Elijah Kelley Join NBC’s The Wiz Live appeared first on Broadway Black.

UPDATE: Trailer for this film has now been released and a limited release date of Dec 4th has been set. The cast includes some dynamic Broadway Black actors including Samuel L. Jackson & Angela Bassett, who were both on Broadway in Katori Hall‘s The Mountaintop. The trailer showcases Teyonah Paris , who stars as Lysistrata and you’ll also see Jennifer Hudson for a quick second, who is making her Broadway debut in The Color Purple. Watch the trailer below.

While Broadway Black previously reported that a Spike Lee sequel to School Daze appears to have been shelved, Lee has not been resting on his laurels. Leading producer, financier and international sales agency IM Global will soon be taking Chiraq, Lee’s next project, to the Cannes market to shop it to international buyers. Chiraq is a retelling of Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy Lysistra, in which women band together to end the Peloponnesian War by refusing to have sex with their husbands until the fighting is over. In Lee’s vision, women similarly withhold sex in an attempt to end gang violence in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. One can definitely see the potential for a dramedy musical based on a battle of the sexes, not unlike Lee’s previous success with School Daze. Jennifer Hudson has signed on and Common, Jeremy Piven and John Cusack are reportedly in talks for significant roles in the film. Kanye West is in negotiations to be involved with the film’s soundtrack.

Although Chiraq has not begun filming (at the time this article was written), it has already amassed its share of critics. Chicago’s mayor Rahm Emanuel and some Chicagoans take umbrage with the film’s polarizing title, which equates Chicago’s streets to the unrest in Iraq. “Chi-Raq” is also the title of a Nicki Minaj track where she raps, “King pins and them drug lords, Chi-town, no gun laws.” Chiraq will be released through Amazon Studios in the U.S., with tentative plans for a theatrical rollout in 2016.

The post Spike Lee’s New Film ‘Chiraq’ Retells Greek Comedy Lysistrata appeared first on Broadway Black.