The Wiz Live! facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Wiz Live! |
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Promotional poster
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| Based on | The Wiz by William F. Brown The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum |
| Written by | Harvey Fierstein |
| Directed by | Kenny Leon Matthew Diamond |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Craig Zadan Neil Meron |
| Running time | 111 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Universal Television Sony Pictures Television Storyline Entertainment |
| Distributor | Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release | December 3, 2015 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Peter Pan Live! |
| Followed by | Hairspray Live! |
The Wiz Live! is a television special that aired live on NBC on December 3, 2015. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, it is a performance of a new adaptation of the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz, a soul/R&B reinterpretation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The broadcast is performed live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. This adaptation of the musical combines aspects of both the Broadway play and its 1978 film adaptation.
Contents
Cast and characters
Main
- Shanice Williams as Dorothy Gale
- Common as The Bouncer / The Gatekeeper of the Entrance to the Emerald City
- Amber Riley as Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North
- Uzo Aduba as Glinda, the Good Witch of the South
- Stephanie Mills as Auntie Em / Emily Gale
- Elijah Kelley as the Scarecrow / Sticks the Farmhand Man #3
- Ne-Yo as the Tin-Man / John the Farmhand Man #1
- David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion / Robert the Farmhand Man #2
- Mary J. Blige as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West
- Queen Latifah as the Wiz
- Scooter the Dog as Toto
Ensemble
- Chris Borrero
- James Brown III
- Olutayo Bosede
- Elon Van Buckley
- Ta'rea Campbell
- Jessica Castro
- Kacie Garland
- Asmeret Ghebremichael
- Frankie Gordils
- Khadija Griffith
- Tre Holloway
- Carlos Irizarry
- Marcus Paul James
- Frederic Jean
- Capathia Jenkins
- Mykal Kilgore
- Tamika Lawrence
- India R. McGee
- Paul McGinnis
- Maurice Murphy
- Antonio Moore
- Danielle Polanco
- Malaiyka Reid
- Eric Sanchez
- Sherisse Springer
- Chris Silcox
- Ahmahd Thomas
- Raphael Thomas
- Alex Wade
- Donald Webber
- DaShaun Wesley
- Xavier Wilcher
- NaTasha Williams
Pit voices were provided by Broadway Inspirational Voices.
Source: Broadway World
Musical numbers
- The list of musical numbers is taken from the actual broadcast and are in order as they appear in the broadcast and include the characters' names who perform the song.
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All numbers composed by Charlie Smalls save for the following: "Tornado" is composed by Timothy Graphenreed and Harold Wheeler. "Emerald City Ballet (Psst)" is composed by Graphenreed and George Faison. "We Got It" is written by Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Harvey Mason Jr, and Stephen Oremus. "Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day" is written by Luther Vandross.
Production
Marketing
The cost of a 30-second commercial during The Wiz ranged between $330,000 to $350,000, marking a drop from the $345,000 to $400,000 cost of ad time during Peter Pan Live!. The decrease in ad cost was attributed to the modest viewership of Peter Pan in comparison to The Sound of Music Live!, which an analyst felt was a result of the reduced novelty of the production in comparison to The Sound of Music. Reddi-wip served as a main sponsor of the presentation; Walmart, which served as a major sponsor of NBC's previous live musicals, declined to participate. NBC produced themed commercials to air throughout the special as part of the brand's "Share the Joy" campaign; one, which was timed to air after the corresponding scene in the musical, featured "A Brand New Day" being performed by students of the Excel Academy in Hyattsville, Maryland—a school which ConAgra Foods had donated money to in support of musical arts.
Viewership
The Wiz Live! was seen by 11.5 million viewers, with a 3.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Although higher than Peter Pan Live!, it trailed a Thursday Night Football game on CBS between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, which was seen by around 17 million. Average household viewership was notably higher in markets with a large African-American population, such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Norfolk, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. Nielsen also reported that the special produced the most social network interactions of any live television event in the past four years; there were three times as many Twitter postings related to The Wiz Live! than there were related to Peter Pan Live!. NBC rebroadcast the special on December 19, 2015. The rebroadcast was seen by 1.6 million viewers.
Accolades
- Primetime Emmy Awards
- Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction Or Reality Program: Paul Tazewell: winner
- Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi Camera Series Or Special: nominated
- Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special: nominated
- Outstanding Makeup for a Multi Camera Series Or Special : nominated
- Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Nonfiction Event or Award Special: Derek McLane: nominated
- Outstanding Technical Direction: nominated
- NAACP Image Awards
- Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: winner
- Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: David Alan Grier: winner
- Critics' Choice Television Awards
- Movie Made for Television or Limited Series: nominated
- Actress in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series: Shanice Williams: nominated
- Supporting Actor in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series: David Alan Grier: nominated
- Supporting Actor in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series: Ne-Yo: nominated
- Supporting Actress in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series: Mary J. Blige: nominated
- Black Reel Awards
- Outstanding TV Special or Documentary: winner (Kenny Leon, director)
- Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series: Shanice Williams: nominated
- Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series: David Alan Grier: nominated
- Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series: Ne-Yo: nominated
- Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series: Mary J. Blige: nominated
- Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Limited Series: Amber Riley: nominated
Home media release
NBC released a DVD of the special on December 22, 2015, through Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The DVD includes a behind-the-scenes special, The Making of The Wiz Live! As part of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Shows Must Go On, the full show was made available on YouTube for a limited time, to support the African-American community and other communities of color during the George Floyd protests.
