Capathia Jenkins, Marcus Paul James & More Broadway Alums Tapped for The Wiz Live!; Complete Cast Set

Y’all got it! The complete cast is now set for NBC’s The Wiz Live!. The musical telecast will ease on down to the Peacock network on December 3. Stage faves joining the ensemble include Capathia Jenkins (Newsies), Marcus Paul James (Motown), Tamika Lawrence (If/Then) and Natasha Yvette Williams (Porgy and Bess).

Additional ensemble members will include Chris Borrero, James Brown III, Olutayo Bosede, Elon Van Buckley, Ta’rea Campbell, Jessica Castro, Kacie Garland, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Frankie Gordils, Khadija Griffith, Tre Holloway, Antonio Hudnell, Carlos Irizarry, Frederic Jean, Mykal Kilgore, India R. McGee, Maurice Murphy, Antonio Moore, Danielle Polanco, Malaiyka Reid, Eric Sanchez, Sherisse Springer, Chris Silcox, Ahmahd Thomas, Raphael Thomas, Alex Wade, Donald Webber, DaShaun Wesley and Xavier Wilcher.

The group joins a starry cast that includes Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em, Queen Latifah as the Wiz, Mary J. Blige as Evillene, Ne-Yo as the Tinman, Elijah Kelly as the Scarecrow, David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion, Uzo Aduba as Glinda, Amber Riley as Addaperle, Common as the Gatekeeper and newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy.

Kenny Leon will stage both the television production and subsequent Broadway revival of The Wiz in collaboration with Harvey Fierstein, who will contribute new material to the original book by William F. Brown. The show follows the familiar L. Frank Baum story of Dorothy and her adventures in Oz with a rock-filled revamp. Charlie Smalls' score includes “Ease on Down the Road,” “No Bad News” and “Home.”