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The revival of the favored 1975 Broadway manufacturing, The Wiz, has attracted new stars to hitch the forged. R&B veteran Deborah Cox has been introduced to play the function of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.
The unique manufacturing of The Wiz featured Dee Dee Bridgewater, whereas Lena Horne performed the identical function within the movie adaptation. CeCe Peniston carried out the function throughout a nationwide tour within the ’90s, and Uzo Aduba performed it in NBC’s The Wiz Stay! in 2015.
“I’m so proud to announce that I’ll [be] again on Broadway in The WIZ,” wrote Cox in an Instagram publish. “I shall be portraying the function of Glinda. We gon be easin down the highway first!! I’m excited we’ll be bringing this present to life for an entire new era!”
She added, “My first encounter with The Wiz was once I was round 4 or 5. That’s when the film got here out. As a younger Black lady from Toronto it was the primary film that I noticed with a full black forged in a musical. I keep in mind being large eyed, in awe. It’s a dream come true to reimagine this function. This function embodies precisely the place I’m in my life and the place I need to be. It’s so superbly resonates a message that I need to convey to the world.”
In 2001, Cox portrayed The Cowardly Lion at Michael Jackson: thirtieth Anniversary Celebration. The 2-day live performance was held at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis. It featured extra appearances from Al Jarreau because the Tin Man, Jill Scott because the Scarecrow and Monica as Dorothy. This part of the present was an ode to Jackson’s function because the Scarecrow within the 1978 movie adaption of The Wiz.
Circling again to the forthcoming musical, it has been introduced that Melody A. Betts will painting each Evillene, the Depraved Witch of the West, and Aunt Em, whereas Alan Mingo Jr. and Wayne Brady will alternate the function of The Wiz.
Mingo will tackle the function in the course of the pre-Broadway tour within the fall, whereas Brady will take over for the spring 2024 exhibits.
Beforehand introduced forged members embody Avery Wilson (Scarecrow), Phillip Johnson Richardson (Tinman) and Kyle Remar Freeman (Lion). The lead function of Dorothy continues to be unannounced.
The upcoming revival of The Wiz shall be directed by Schele Williams. The present will characteristic William F. Brown’s screenplay and Charlie Smalls’ music and lyrics. The manufacturing relies on The Fantastic Wizard of Oz, a novel written by L. Frank Baum.
The workforce behind the upcoming manufacturing contains Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, Todd Tucker, and Kandi Burruss-Tucker as producers. JaQuel Knight has been chosen to choreograph the present.
The Wiz will begin its first Broadway-bound tour in 40 years on the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore from Sept. 23 to Sept. 30. It’s going to tour U.S. cities till 2023 and have a brief run in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in 2024.
Cox first starred in a Broadway manufacturing in 2004 when she stuffed the title function of Aida, a musical helmed by Elton John and Tim Rice. She returned to Broadway in 2016, taking the roles of Josephine Baker in Josephine and Whitney Houston in a musical model of the hit 1992 film The Bodyguard.
The information of Cox’s Broadway return comes after she was inducted into the Canadian Music Corridor of Fame in 2022 and obtained the Entertainer Icon Award on the 2020 Black Music Honors.
That very same 12 months she was awarded the latter statuette, she appeared on Rico Love’s album Rico Love Presents: Rising Ladies in R&B. A 12 months prior, she dropped the tune “Simple Method,” which was written and produced by Love.
Cox has but to launch a correct album of recent materials since 2008’s The Promise. In 2015, she introduced a brand new album titled Work of Artwork with the singles “Kinda Miss You” and “Extra Than I Knew,” however the album was by no means launched.
As an alternative, Cox launched I Will All the time Love You, an album that includes songs beforehand carried out by Whitney Houston, which coincided along with her function in The Bodyguard musical.
The Wiz 2023-2024 Season Schedule
Sep 23 – Sep 30, 2023 – Baltimore, MD @ Hippodrome Theatre
Oct 3 – Oct 22, 2023 – Cleveland, OH @ Playhouse Sq.
Oct 24 – Oct 29, 2023 – Washington, D.C. @ Nationwide Theatre
Oct 31 – Nov 5, 2023 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Benedum Heart
Nov 7 – Nov 12, 2023 – Charlotte, NC @ Blumenthal Performing Arts Heart
Nov 14 – Nov 19, 2023 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
Nov 21 – Nov 26, 2023 – Greenville, SC @ The Peace Heart
Nov 28 – Dec 10, 2023 – Chicago, IL @ Cadillac Palace Theatre
Dec 12 – Dec 17, 2023 – Des Moines, IA @ Des Moines Civic Heart
Jan 2 – Jan 7, 2024 – Tempe, AZ @ ASU Gammage
Jan 9 – Jan 14, 2024 – San Diego, CA @ Civic Theatre
Jan 16 – Feb 11, 2024 – San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Theatre
Feb 13 – Mar 3, 2024 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Pantages Theatre
Tickets for The Wiz might be bought at wizmusical.com.
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