L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories have been musicalized countless times, including the currently running Wicked. The first Broadway version was a 1903 adaptation with book and lyrics by Baum himself in which Dorothy traveled with her pet cow, Imogene. Broadway wouldn’t see a second Oz musical until Jan. 5, 1975, when The Wiz (subtitled The Super Soul Musical) opened at the Majestic Theatre. It featured a book by William F. Brown and a score by Charlie Smalls, which interpolated the song “Everybody Rejoice (A Brand New Day)” by Luther Vandross. The creative team also included Ken Harper (producer), Geoffrey Holder (direction, costumes), George Faison (choreography), Tom H. John (sets), Tharon Musser (lights), Stanley James (wigs, makeup), Richard J.C. Miller (sound), Ronald Vitelli (SFX), Harold Wheeler (orchestrations), Charles H. Coleman (vocal arrangements, musical direction), and Timothy Graphenreed (dance arrangements, additional music).
The cast included Stephanie Mills (Dorothy), Hinton Battle (Scarecrow), Tiger Haynes (Tinman), Ted Ross (Lion), Dee Dee Bridgewater (Glinda), Mabel King (Evillene), Clarice Taylor (Addaperle), Tasha Thomas (Aunt Em), and André De Shields (Wiz). Below is Mills with Michael James Leslie, Gregg Burge, and Tiger Haynes performing “Be a Lion” and “Ease on Down the Road” in a televised Central Park fundraiser.
The original production ran for 1,672 performances and was nominated for eight Tonys, winning seven, including musical, score (Smalls), featured actor (Ross), featured actress (Bridgewater), costumes (Holder), choreography (Faison), and direction (Holder). The film version, directed by Sidney Lumet with a screenplay by Joel Schumacher, was released in 1978, starring Diana Ross (Dorothy), Michael Jackson (Scarecrow), Nipsey Russell (Tin Man), Lena Horne (Glinda), Theresa Merritt (Aunt Em), and Richard Pryor (Wiz), with Ted Ross and Mabel King reprising their stage roles. It was nominated for four Oscars. Below is Ross and Jackson in “Ease on Down the Road.”
The musical had a short-lived Broadway revival starring Mills, again directed by Holder, in 1984 (featuring future Tony winner Ann Duquesnay as Glinda) and a concert revival in the Encores! series at City Center in 2009 directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, with Ashanti (Dorothy), Christian White (Scarecrow), Joshua Henry (Tin Man), James Monroe Iglehart (Lion), LaChanze (Aunt Em, Glinda), Tichina Arnold (Evillene), Dawnn Lewis (Addaperle), and Orlando Jones (Wiz).
A television version, directed by Kenny Leon with a screenplay by Harvey Fierstein, was broadcast on NBC in 2015 (featuring Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em), with Shanice Williams (Dorothy), Elijah Kelley (Scarecrow), Ne-Yo (Tin Man), David Alan Grier (Lion), Uzo Aduba (Glinda), Mary J. Blige (Evillene), Amber Riley (Addaperle), and Queen Latifah (Wiz). It was nominated for six Emmys, winning one. Below is Williams and the cast in a medley of “Ease on Down the Road.”