Brady and Grier Among the Cast of The Wiz at La Jolla

Principal casting as been announced for The Wiz, directed by Des McAnuff, at La Jolla Playhouse. The cast will feature Nikki M. James as Dorothy, Wayne Brady as the Scarecrow, Tituss Burgess as the Lion, Michael Benjamin Washington as the Tinman, David Alan Grier as The Wiz, E. Faye Butler as Evillene, Valarie Pettiford as Aunt Em and Glinda, Heather Lee as Addaperle and Orville Mendoza as Uncle Henry.

James has been featured on Broadway in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and All Shook Up. Other notable credits include the recent off-Broadway musical Bernarda Alba, the Encores! mounting of House of Flowers and Babes in Arms at Goodspeed Musicals.

Brady is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host and executive producer of The Wayne Brady Show, a syndicated talk show that went off the air in 2004. A comedian, writer and performer, Brady began his career on stage. His theatrical credits include A Chorus Line, Fences, I'm Not Rappaport, A Raisin in the Sun and Blade to the Heat at the Mark Taper Forum. He made his Broadway debut in Chicago in 2004. In addition to The Wayne Brady Show, his television credits include the improvisational comedy program Whose Line is it Anyway? for which he was awarded an Emmy for Individual Performance, Variety or Music Program, Kevin Hill and Girlfriends.

Burgess is currently appearing on Broadway in McAnuff's production of Jersey Boys, which he also appeared in at La Jolla. He additionally appeared on the Great White Way in Good Vibrations.

Washington is probably best known for his performance as flamboyant maid Jacob in the revival of La Cage aux Folles. He also played Eddie in the original cast of Mamma Mia! on Broadway. His off-Broadway credits include Stephen Sondheim's Saturday Night.

Grier won a Theatre World Award and was nominated for a Tony Award for his Broadway debut in The First, in which he played Jackie Robinson. He has also appeared on the Great White Way in Dreamgirls and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. His off-Broadway credits include King Richard III and The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park and an Encores! staging of One Touch of Venus.Last year he appeared in the pre-Broadway tryout of The Mambo Kings which never came to New York. Grier is best known for his work in television comedies. He became famous in the early 1990s for his work on the TV series In Living Color. He has since starred on the series Dag, Damon, The Preston Episodes and Life With Bonnie. His film credits include Off Limits, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Almost an Angel, Boomerang, In the Army Now, Tales from the Hood, Jumanji, McHale's Navy, Return to Me, 15 Minutes, The Woodsman and Bewitched.

Butler appeared on Broadway in Blues and off-Broadway in Nunsense. Other theatrical credits include Mamma Mia!, Ain't Misbehavin', Dinah Was, Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope, Polk County, Crumbs From The Table Of Joy, Gospel According To Fishman, Christmas Carol, Comfortable Shoes, Could It Be Magic, Ruthless, Showboat, Little Shop of Horrors and last season's Broadway-bound mounting of Purlie which has yet to be seen in New York.

As a teenager, Pettiford appeared in the chorus of the film version of The Wiz. She has appeared on Broadway in Big Deal, Grind, Sophisticated Ladies and Fosse. Her off-Broadway credits include Free Fall, The Balcony, Tango Apasiondo, Weird Romance, The Naked Truth and Beehive. Since 2002, Pettiford has been starring on the UPN series Half & Half, but the show will not return in the fall.

Lee has appeared on Broadway in revivals of Guys and Dolls and Gypsy in which she played Tessie Tura. Her other theatrical credits include the Reprise! mounting of Of Thee I Sing, Carousel, Tintypes and the national tour of Beauty and the Beast. She also played Babette in the television special Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical Comes to L.A. and provided the voice for Babette in Beauty and the Beast: A Concert On Ice.

Mendoza appeared on the Great White Way in Pacific Overtures. His other theatrical credits include national tours of The King and I and Miss Saigon.

The Wiz, based on L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, features music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and a book by William F. Brown. For this production of The Wiz, Toto will be embodied by Albert Blaise Cattafi, a dancer with Urban Ballet Theater, Company of Dance Arts, Westerville Ballet project and Synthesis Dance Project. The ensemble includes Courtney Corey, Mark Emerson, Dionne D. Figgins, Demond Green, Albert Guerzon, Dominique Kelley, Ron Kellum, Alan Mingo, Anisha Nagarajan, NRaca, Karine Plantadit, Keiana Richard, Liz Ramos and Marcos Santana.

The Wiz is scheduled to run at the La Jolla Playhouse from September 26 through November 12.