credit: The Wiz courtesy photo
By: Wayne Williams
The adventures on the yellow brick road have made a comeback! On Wednesday (April 17), New York City’s Marquis Theater welcomed “The Wiz” into its historic theater and took the helm of the show with acclaimed director Schele Williams. The show stars Wayne Brady as the titular character.
I’ve always loved Broadway musicals before seeing one or knowing exactly what they were. I learned about Broadway musicals by listening to Long- Play albums my mother brought home from popular Broadway shows. I learned how to sing and how to dance just by listening to an album of a musical I hadn’t seen.
Since one fateful second-grade assembly, where we were all gathered to see “The Wizard of Oz,” I have been hooked. From that day, I knew I would go to a Broadway show one day. I’ve had the opportunity to see many shows since then. I have also learned much more about the creator of “The Wizard of Oz.”
L. Frank Baum, the creator of the intense and whimsical stories that made up “The Wonderful World of Oz,” identified the main individual characters of the musical and film one at a time in what was better known as the Oz series. From the many children's fantasies, L. Frank Baum penned five that directly highlight the musical’s main characters: Dorothy and The Wizard in Oz, The Cowardly Lion of Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz, The Tin Woodman of Oz, and Glinda of Oz.
This year marks the 124th anniversary of Baum’s ultimate masterpiece. It also marks the much-awaited return to Broadway of “The Wiz.”
“The Wiz” took six months of traveling performances before heading to the Big Apple. The anticipated revival features Canadian-born singer-songwriter Deborah Cox, who plays Glinda the Good Witch.
Tickets for the show are now on sale, which is getting a lot of buzz!
Copy Edited by: Breanna Robinson
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