Wayne Brady-Led ‘The Wiz’ Set For April 2024 Broadway Premiere
The Wayne Brady-led The Wiz will premiere on Broadway April 17, 2024, Deadline reports. The live project will hold previews at the Marquis Theatre on March 29, 2024. Additionally, a pre-Broadway national tour for the Black musical began in Baltimore on Sunday (Sept. 24). The outlet reports that the show received five standing ovations in the city where the original show premiered five decades ago.
Along with Brady, The Wiz’s cast is teeming with talent. The cast includes Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion, Deborah Cox as Glinda, Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tinman, Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em and Evillene, and Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow.
Recently, it was announced that Adam Blackstone was added to the creative team behind the Broadway revival of The Wiz. Deadline previously exclusively reported that the award-winning music director signed on as a dance music arranger. His associate, Terence Vaughn, will also join Blackstone for the project. His new role will reunite Blackstone with frequent collaborator JaQuel Knight, the stage show’s choreographer.
Adam spoke about his latest job venture in an official press release. “Joining The Wiz’s creative team has been a very surreal moment,” Blackstone expressed. “I remember watching the film on VHS daily for years, wondering how it sounded so incredible, how MJ transformed into the Scarecrow, and the score and orchestrations truly told a story all of its own.
“I get to musically partner with Terence Vaughn and reunite with my brother, super choreographer and creative director JaQuel Knight… I am excited and look forward to this body of work changing lives, just like it did for me in the ’80s.”
JaQuel Knight also talked about Blackstone joining The Wiz and what it means to reunite with his collaborator. “With over a decade of working beside each other on some of the biggest stages in the world, I’m so honored to have him and his team by my side on this journey to Broadway. The work he does is so important to culture. To have him translate the music in my head to a joyous audio experience… grateful is an understatement!”
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