The Wiz is the kind of musical that’s still capturing the imagination of audiences over the last 40 years. It started off as a Broadway production in 1975 before becoming a feature film in 1978. Though overlooked when it first came out, it’s since become a cult classic.
NBC just recently announced that The Wiz will be the latest in their series of live broadcast musicals, preceded by The Sound of Music and Peter Pan. The network will working closely with the French-Canadian super circus, Cirque du Soleil. There are even plans to bring the show back to Broadway sometime next year, making this is a revival in the grandest sense. It’s going to be extremely difficult to top what the film’s stars Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, and Michael Jackson brought to the table. Since the cast list has yet to be announced, here are our fantasy picks for The Wiz revival.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dorothy
Jussie Smollett as The Scarecrow
Patti LaBelle as Glinda, The Good Witch of The South
Anthony Anderson as the Cowardly Lion
Jennifer Hudson as The Wicked Witch of The West
Taraji P. Henson as Addaperle
Cecily Tyson as Aunt Em
Harry Belafonte as Uncle Henry
Kevin Hart as Tin Man
Eddie Murphy as The Wiz
Dylan “CineMasai” Green is a movie geek, hip-hop aficionado, and pita chip enthusiast. Find him on Twitter.
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