So I know I know we aren't casting directors, blah blah blah, if you don't wanna play don't play
who would y'all like to see in the roles!!?? suggestions..?
Dorothy - ??? Scarecrow - Darius De Haas Tin Man - ??? Lion - Billy Porter Aunt Em - Roz Ryan Adaperle - Sharon Wilkins Gate Keeper - Wiz - Ben Vereen Evilene - Jennifer Holliday, Lilias White Glinda - Stephanie Mills
debrah as the lion, what did she do that made you wanna cast her as the lion in the bdway production, did she belt and growl the hell outta it, what was so special about her performance??
I agree with Ben Vareen as the Wiz and Corey Reynolds as the scarecrow. I think Heather Headley would be a really good Dorthy. I think LaToya from American Idol could pull it off too.
I ADORE Diana Degarmo. Not sure if she could handle the role (although I know very little about this show. Also, is it written specifically for Dorothy in The Wiz to be played by a black performer?
Lilias White would sing the crap out of Evilene! How about LaChanze for Glinda. I do like the idea of Tamyra Gray for Dorothy. And Darius DeHaas is genius for the Scarecrow! "I was booooooooooooooorn on the day before yesterday!"
I hope they update some of the orchestrations.
And, I saw a production a few summers ago that incorporated the "Pit Singers" into the show. It was fabulous.
I think this is such a fabulous show! Will they cast it all black? Does it have a stipulation like Once On This Island that it has to be all black when performed professionally?
...and your children start to leave you from the moment they are born.
"The Wiz" was originally conceived as a black version of "The Wizard of Oz" with an R&B/ gospel score. The entire original cast, composer, director, choreographer et al were black, as was the look and sensibility of the show. For example, the Yellow Brick Road was personified by four brothers with huge yellow afros, hip yellow costumes and large yellow canes (they acted as silent sentries on the journey and Dorothy, Scarecrow etc "eased on down the road" by dancing between and around them).
The revival apparently may include a multiracial cast, which potentially could undermine the whole purpose of the show if not handled properly. After all, if you want to have a white Dorothy, then why not just get the rights for the stage adaptation of the 1939 film version? I suppose it's not as crucial that the Lion, Scarecrow and Tinman be played by black actors since they are heavily made up anyway (although there was never a moment's doubt as to the ethnicity of the original cast's Ted Ross, Hinton Battle and Tiger Haynes). But, IMO, casting Dorothy, Aunt Em, The Wiz, perhaps even Evilene, et al with anyone other than black actors, fundamentally alters the show, and not for the better.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
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"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney