Gee, why ‘The Wiz’?
Of all the B’way shows to put on TV, they picked an unlikely one
PRODUCERS Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have had a good run at NBC doing live broadcasts of great Broadway musicals.
Nearly 20 million people tuned in to see
Carrie Underwood teach the von Trapps to sing in “The Sound of Music.” Another 10 million watched Allison
Williams fly around with Wendy, Michael and John in “Peter Pan.”
But why “The Wiz,” airing live Dec. 3?
Aside from “Ease on Down the Road” and “Home,” can you name another song from the 1975 musical that critic John Simon called “flimsy”? And then there was the 1978 movie, which had Diana
Ross playing Dorothy when she was almost old enough to play Miss Gulch.
Turns out Zadan and Meron have loved the show since they spent their allowance money going to shows in 1970s.
“I went to an early preview and sat in the last row of the Majestic Theatre,” Meron says. “They moved me down because they weren’t selling a lot of tickets then. Somebody described it as ‘unadulterated joy’ — I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but that’s how I felt.”
“It was the first black musical to win the Tony Award, and I saw it several times,” adds Zadan. “I was captivated by Stephanie Mills” — the original Dorothy.
Meron even loved the movie.
“I found out they were filming down at the World Trade Center and I went down to watch,” he says. “It was wonderful.”
They’re not alone in their admiration for “The Wiz.” When they approached
Queen Latifah about playing the Wiz (she’s the first female to play the part), she said, “It’s the first Broadway show I ever saw, and when Stephanie Mills sang ‘Home,’ I knew I was going to be a performer.”
Backstage in February at the Oscars, which Zadan and Meron produced, they met Com
mon. He asked what show they were doing next for NBC. When they said “The Wiz,” he exclaimed: “I grew up with that movie! I have to be in it!” Look for him next Thursday as the Bouncer, the gatekeeper of the entrance to Emerald City.