“Come on ease on down, ease on down the road.” NBC is easing on down the yellow brick road with The Wiz. The classic musical is perhaps known best for its 1978 film adaptation starring Diana Ross as Dorothy Gale, MIchael Jackson as The Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell as The Tin Man, and Richard Pryor as The Wizard. Now, NBC will be bringing the re-telling of The Wizard of Oz to your livingrooms as the next Live musical, following the success of both, last years Peter Pan Live and the prior year’s Sound of Music Live. That is not all. The show will be upped a notch or two with the help of Cirque du Soleil before heading to Broadway for a 2016-2017 revival. Who said you can’t win!
NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt released a statement about the new live musical event, saying (via Deadline):
“We love this yearly tradition and we’re more excited than ever to not only bring another Broadway musical to America’s living rooms, but also see it land on Broadway as well. A natural next step for our live musical events.”
What do you think about The Wiz being picked as the next big NBC live musical event? Are you excited about Cirque du Soleil’s involvement? Who do you want see cast in what roles? Let us know your thoughts on the new live musical in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
