So happy to hear this! I'm seeing it in two weeks during my visit back to NY and can't wait to finally see this show on stage (I've only seen the movie and the NBC special)
Your review and interpretations are positive and very enlightening. I've seen the show many times in the past, including the original Broadway showing way back when. It was showing here (Houston) not too long ago and I felt let down by the performance because there was very little dancing. I mean, this show's numbers were meant for dancing and instead most of the songs were done with the performers standing in place. So, my question has to be, since it's not mentioned in this review, does the cast actually do the justice by not only singing, but also dancing or is it the same "standing still" routine that should be avoided? I'm guessing since the review was so good it's the full-on Broadway magic performance, but I don't want to spend money, time, and effort on a let down if that's the case with this revival.
My perspective has kind of changed since I reviewed, taking into account other people's points of view after the fact, and if I did review it again, it wouldn't be as glowing as this review is. Yes, there is some "stand and sing" moments, but there is also a good bit of movement as well. The magic has faded quite a bit from when I saw this production.
I was lucky to have experienced The Wiz on Broadway Opening Night. It was amazing. Common, Hillary Clinton, Megan the Stalian, Stephanie Mills, Tam Hall, and the remaining cast of the original cast of The Wiz attended. It was standing ovations,power house power house proformances from, Evilen, The Tinman vocals melted my heart, Scarecrow , the Lion vocals and comic time where to die for..Dorothy what can say but WOW WOW POWERFUL BEAUTIFUL AND EMOTIONAL...WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉
THE WIZ was always more than an “urban” version of the Wizard of Oz and I’m glad you were able to see that in this production. The movie is an awful representation of the original broadway production of the Wiz; however, if you were to watch it now, a few of the allegories of the Black experience might shine through. 😊
I forgot to mention one flaw: the sound. The actors sounded muffled at times and that annoyed the heck out of me!! Many of these folks didn’t even NEED amplification!!!
Interesting. I saw this in L.A. before it hit Broadway and I was disappointed. I found it garish, kinda messy and lacking any kind of... well, point. It was simply a Black American Wizard of Oz. I didn't detect any social commentary or any kind of attempt at thematic underpinning. It was just kind of frivolous fun. Still, maybe that's just what they were going for - no harm in it. Phenomenal performances at any rate.
LOVED It, I saw this production here in Los Angeles Ca, but i'm going to see it AGAIN on Broadway. I have to disagree with you about Wayne Brady, I thought he was GREAT as THE WIZ.
Most of the people who I've seen were critical of this production had seen either the original or the revival in 1984 and have strong feelings for those productions, which isn't uncommon. I won't say that they're looking through rose tinted glasses in this case, but in my experience in socializing with my colleagues, they do tend to have an attitude of dismissing or being over critical of new productions because they loved the original so much. Me, not old enough to have seen either -- I turned seven in 1984 and was living in California at the time -- I can only critique it based on my experience and knowledge. I try to not let previous productions of shows influence a current production I'm seeing, but I admit it can be difficult. For example, when the new revival of Sunset Boulevard comes to Broadway, it's going to be very difficult not to compare Nicole Scherzinger to Glenn Close, because Glenn Close gave one of the greatest performances I've ever seen on stage.
A lot of people don't like change, especially when it is about something they love and they want to hold on to that memory of what they loved seeing. But change is the way of life and I'm not going to be immediately dismissive or judgmental because someone has a new vision for a classic. For example, the latest revival of Oklahoma, aside from the ballet sequence, I thought was a wonderful reimagining, but many didn't like it.
Apparently so, but I didn’t want to assume it while working on the review. Though I am generally against the use of AI, I can’t deny that the imagery worked.
I'm so surprised by this positive review. Granted, I only saw it in its pre-Broadway tour stop in San Francisco, so hopefully they just really made it a lot better since then. I thought the book was funny, but overly reliant on telling the message to the audience (such as in the poppy scene), and the plot progression was quite slow at the top of Act II especially. Aside from some other small things such as the Evilene's melting being very underwhelming (in SF she just was slowly descended down a trapdoor with little to no effects) and the ensemble inexplicably wearing solid colored shirts for "Everybody Rejoice," my other main criticism was the projections. The over reliance on projections was just compounded by, for me, design that looked AI generated. Not saying it was at all, but the style just completely put me off. It was too fake to seem realistic, and too stylized and realistically-shaded to be enjoyably fake for me. It is good, as always, to hear your review. It seems like they fixed the show and it landed on Broadway in better shape? Or I just have an old bitter heart.
I had a similar feeling about the projections. As I say in the review, I’m not a fan of over dependence on projections, but alas, it’s the way of things. I also had a suspicion of it being AI generated, but it was something I didn’t feel comfortable making a claim on without any evidence.
Wow, you & I are generally pretty closely aligned on productions. Not this time. I was lucky enough to have seen the show originally back on Broadway with Stephanie Mills & Andre DeShields. With that said, I knew this was going to be a tough sell. Have not seen the show on Broadway, but saw during previews in Chicago. Thought this was by far one of the biggest wastes of money and excuses for a revival that I have ever seen. The person who played the Wiz was absolutely awful and left much to be desired. The main entrance of the Wiz was lackluster and not even worth mentioning. I felt the rest of the cast was good, but thought the sets stunk overall and it was a sad excuse for a Broadway show. Maybe they’ve made some fine changes to make it more presentable but as stated, I think this was the worst show I’ve ever seen headed for Broadway. Dumb & insulting! Yeah, if this one’s over merrily, I will finally realize that Broadway’s Tony’s are fixed. Only show that I’ve seen that was about as bad is the new Louis Armstrong show Wonderful.
I hate to say but I agree with you. I saw the 1984 revival with Stephanie Mills at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco 1984. It was magical and one of the most beautiful times I've had in the theater. I only saw it once, but the magic has stayed a lifetime. I saw this production at the Golden Gate Theater in SF.
and have CABERAT to add to the mix......E. Redman might win best actor in a musical But think the Tony will go elsewhere.....think the tony will be between E.R. and J. Groff ........would love to see Groff win to hear his acceptance. speech....
I have to join the chorus to say I generally admire your reviews a great deal and I’m glad you enjoyed this one, but when I saw it here in Atlanta a few months ago, it was pretty dreadful. A lot of the costumes, particularly for the ensemble, looked like a bad high school production and a lot of line deliveries were really poor. Hopefully some elements have improved since then and glad you had a good time.
😂 I don’t think I hate everything. I try to be as fair as possible pointing out the good and the bad. I’d be a bad critic if I didn’t, I think. But yes, it is a rarity that I give a show a blanket rave like this. I could have gone into some of the sound balancing issues they were having, but I let it slide since it was still in previews. Plus I totally understand people’s issues with the AI images, but that’s a moral aesthetic issue, not a criticism of how it affects the quality of the production and should be addressed in a different article.
![Summer Walker - Heart Of A Woman [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SFddctbZzw8/mqdefault.jpg)
So happy to hear this! I'm seeing it in two weeks during my visit back to NY and can't wait to finally see this show on stage (I've only seen the movie and the NBC special)
Your review and interpretations are positive and very enlightening. I've seen the show many times in the past, including the original Broadway showing way back when. It was showing here (Houston) not too long ago and I felt let down by the performance because there was very little dancing. I mean, this show's numbers were meant for dancing and instead most of the songs were done with the performers standing in place.
So, my question has to be, since it's not mentioned in this review, does the cast actually do the justice by not only singing, but also dancing or is it the same "standing still" routine that should be avoided? I'm guessing since the review was so good it's the full-on Broadway magic performance, but I don't want to spend money, time, and effort on a let down if that's the case with this revival.
My perspective has kind of changed since I reviewed, taking into account other people's points of view after the fact, and if I did review it again, it wouldn't be as glowing as this review is. Yes, there is some "stand and sing" moments, but there is also a good bit of movement as well.
The magic has faded quite a bit from when I saw this production.
I was lucky to have experienced The Wiz on Broadway Opening Night. It was amazing. Common, Hillary Clinton, Megan the Stalian, Stephanie Mills, Tam Hall, and the remaining cast of the original cast of The Wiz attended. It was standing ovations,power house power house proformances from, Evilen, The Tinman vocals melted my heart, Scarecrow , the Lion vocals and comic time where to die for..Dorothy what can say but WOW WOW POWERFUL BEAUTIFUL AND EMOTIONAL...WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉
I was in The Wiz in high school so I'd love to see this
I saw the original production. I don't remember much but I still have a Playbill autographed by André De Shields.
I loved this show and this review. It’s pure joy!
I saw it opening night and I loved it!!! I totally agree with your reveiw!😁👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Have tickets for the end of June. Looking forward to seeing this production.
THE WIZ was always more than an “urban” version of the Wizard of Oz and I’m glad you were able to see that in this production.
The movie is an awful representation of the original broadway production of the Wiz; however, if you were to watch it now, a few of the allegories of the Black experience might shine through. 😊
I agree, the movie is awful.
Thank you...really enjoy your reviews along with the visuals you provide. ❤🧡❤
I forgot to mention one flaw: the sound. The actors sounded muffled at times and that annoyed the heck out of me!! Many of these folks didn’t even NEED amplification!!!
You don't think Cabaret isn't going to be a contender for Best Revival too? I cannot wait to go see the WIZ!
It very well could be. I’ll know more when I see it Wednesday next week.
Very good review. Why do you think "The Wiz" didn't receive a single Tony nomination???
Because I'm the only one who liked it. I get people's complaints. That people feel it looks cheap. i didn't care. I had a lot of fun.
Interesting. I saw this in L.A. before it hit Broadway and I was disappointed. I found it garish, kinda messy and lacking any kind of... well, point. It was simply a Black American Wizard of Oz. I didn't detect any social commentary or any kind of attempt at thematic underpinning. It was just kind of frivolous fun. Still, maybe that's just what they were going for - no harm in it.
Phenomenal performances at any rate.
LOVED It, I saw this production here in Los Angeles Ca, but i'm going to see it AGAIN on Broadway. I have to disagree with you about Wayne Brady, I thought he was GREAT as THE WIZ.
Well that was a rave
The Press was pretty brutal. Were they over-critical? Doesn't sound as bad as they implied.
Most of the people who I've seen were critical of this production had seen either the original or the revival in 1984 and have strong feelings for those productions, which isn't uncommon. I won't say that they're looking through rose tinted glasses in this case, but in my experience in socializing with my colleagues, they do tend to have an attitude of dismissing or being over critical of new productions because they loved the original so much. Me, not old enough to have seen either -- I turned seven in 1984 and was living in California at the time -- I can only critique it based on my experience and knowledge.
I try to not let previous productions of shows influence a current production I'm seeing, but I admit it can be difficult. For example, when the new revival of Sunset Boulevard comes to Broadway, it's going to be very difficult not to compare Nicole Scherzinger to Glenn Close, because Glenn Close gave one of the greatest performances I've ever seen on stage.
A lot of people don't like change, especially when it is about something they love and they want to hold on to that memory of what they loved seeing. But change is the way of life and I'm not going to be immediately dismissive or judgmental because someone has a new vision for a classic. For example, the latest revival of Oklahoma, aside from the ballet sequence, I thought was a wonderful reimagining, but many didn't like it.
I know there was some controversy with this show because they used AI generated backdrops during its pre-broadway run. Is that still the case here?
Apparently so, but I didn’t want to assume it while working on the review. Though I am generally against the use of AI, I can’t deny that the imagery worked.
I'm so surprised by this positive review. Granted, I only saw it in its pre-Broadway tour stop in San Francisco, so hopefully they just really made it a lot better since then. I thought the book was funny, but overly reliant on telling the message to the audience (such as in the poppy scene), and the plot progression was quite slow at the top of Act II especially.
Aside from some other small things such as the Evilene's melting being very underwhelming (in SF she just was slowly descended down a trapdoor with little to no effects) and the ensemble inexplicably wearing solid colored shirts for "Everybody Rejoice," my other main criticism was the projections. The over reliance on projections was just compounded by, for me, design that looked AI generated. Not saying it was at all, but the style just completely put me off. It was too fake to seem realistic, and too stylized and realistically-shaded to be enjoyably fake for me.
It is good, as always, to hear your review. It seems like they fixed the show and it landed on Broadway in better shape? Or I just have an old bitter heart.
I had a similar feeling about the projections. As I say in the review, I’m not a fan of over dependence on projections, but alas, it’s the way of things. I also had a suspicion of it being AI generated, but it was something I didn’t feel comfortable making a claim on without any evidence.
And yes, Evilene’s melting is improved upon by what you describe, but not by much it seems.
Wow, you & I are generally pretty closely aligned on productions. Not this time. I was lucky enough to have seen the show originally back on Broadway with Stephanie Mills & Andre DeShields. With that said, I knew this was going to be a tough sell. Have not seen the show on Broadway, but saw during previews in Chicago. Thought this was by far one of the biggest wastes of money and excuses for a revival that I have ever seen. The person who played the Wiz was absolutely awful and left much to be desired. The main entrance of the Wiz was lackluster and not even worth mentioning. I felt the rest of the cast was good, but thought the sets stunk overall and it was a sad excuse for a Broadway show. Maybe they’ve made some fine changes to make it more presentable but as stated, I think this was the worst show I’ve ever seen headed for Broadway. Dumb & insulting! Yeah, if this one’s over merrily, I will finally realize that Broadway’s Tony’s are fixed. Only show that I’ve seen that was about as bad is the new Louis Armstrong show Wonderful.
Wow! I wonder if they made a lot of changes before it went to Broadway? Does it look the same? Was the cast the same?
I hate to say but I agree with you. I saw the 1984 revival with Stephanie Mills at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco 1984. It was magical and one of the most beautiful times I've had in the theater. I only saw it once, but the magic has stayed a lifetime. I saw this production at the Golden Gate Theater in SF.
"Modern perspective". Ugh, usually means it stinks.
and have CABERAT to add to the mix......E. Redman might win best actor in a musical But think the Tony will go elsewhere.....think the tony will be between E.R. and J. Groff ........would love to see Groff win to hear his acceptance. speech....
We’ll see. I’m seeing Cabaret Wednesday night.
I have to join the chorus to say I generally admire your reviews a great deal and I’m glad you enjoyed this one, but when I saw it here in Atlanta a few months ago, it was pretty dreadful. A lot of the costumes, particularly for the ensemble, looked like a bad high school production and a lot of line deliveries were really poor. Hopefully some elements have improved since then and glad you had a good time.
Wow you normally hate everything
😂 I don’t think I hate everything. I try to be as fair as possible pointing out the good and the bad. I’d be a bad critic if I didn’t, I think. But yes, it is a rarity that I give a show a blanket rave like this. I could have gone into some of the sound balancing issues they were having, but I let it slide since it was still in previews. Plus I totally understand people’s issues with the AI images, but that’s a moral aesthetic issue, not a criticism of how it affects the quality of the production and should be addressed in a different article.
@@onemansopinion8135 i appreciate the response. I do like your reviews