25 July 2006

Major new staging of The Wiz

The La Jolla Playhouse outside San Diego has announced a major new production of The Wiz to debut in September. According to Broadway.com and other press reports, the cast will include big names from television and Broadway, including:

  • Nikki M. James as Dorothy
  • Wayne Brady as the Scarecrow
  • Michael Benjamin Washington as the Tin Man
  • Titus Burgess as the Cowardly Lion
  • E. Faye Butler as Evillene
  • David Allen Grier as the Wiz
I consider the two female parts above to be the most important in the show, but the supporting cast carries the comedy.

Director Des McAnuff staged and co-wrote The Who's Tommy, and directed many other musicals. He co-produced Brad Bird's wonderful Iron Giant animated film. He also directed the 2001 Rocky and Bullwinkle movie, so life hasn't been all good.

The La Jolla Playhouse was once a home stage for I Am My Own Wife, the one-actor, fifty-part play starring my old college roommate Jefferson Mays. Another of my roommates directed a production of The Wiz back in college. So it all comes together.

1 comment:

fusenumber8 said...

THANK YOU! I've been trying to find information on this all week and failed to do so. Wayne Brady was supposed to guest star on my sister's midwestern children's television show but he bowed out because of "The Wiz". I couldn't find a drop of info on the upcoming show, though. Very useful.