The Broadway Revival of The Wiz Welcomes a New Generation to Oz on Opening Night

The Wiz—the beloved, Black retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—celebrated its official Broadway opening at the Marquis Theatre on April 17. Settling into their Broadway home on the heels of a whirlwind national tour, the show stars Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Deborah Cox as Glinda, Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em/Evillene, Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tinman, Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow and Wayne Brady as The Wiz. The production is directed in its new iteration by Schele Williams, who brings The Wiz home for the first time in 40 years, drawing on plenty of nostalgia while also adapting the musical for a new century. 

"It is so cool to share The Wiz with a new generation of kids," Amber Ruffin told The Broadway Show on the red carpet, reflecting on her new contributions to the musical's original book by William F. Brown. "When I was a kid and I saw The Wiz, it really changed the way I saw my place in the world. I'm hoping this will do [that] for a new set of cute little brown babies." 

"This is a production that means the world to our culture," added Cox, a Broadway veteran whose opening-night ensemble paid homage to her glittering gold Glinda costume. "It's everything that I've aspired to be as a Broadway performer, and this is the show that you want to be in when you want to reflect that." 

"The Wiz changed my life," affirmed Williams, who makes her Broadway debut as a solo director with The Wiz (she also co-directs this season's The Notebook). "To be able to be here on opening night on the rebirth of this incredible musical is exhilarating."