Susan Granger’s review of “The Wiz” (Marquis Theater)
After a 13-city national tour, “The Wiz” is back on Broadway – almost 50 years after it began. This fast-paced, reimagined revival, directed by Schele Williams with an updated book by Amber Ruffin, aims to be the Blackest of all Oz adaptations.
Sad and bullied by her classmates, plaintive Dorothy (Nichelle Lewis) is a city girl who has moved to Kansas to live with her kindly Aunt Em (Melody A. Betts, also doubling as the Wicked Witch Evillene). This opening scene takes its grayscale cue from the classic Judy Garland film.
Then, suddenly, swept away by a tornado, Dorothy finds herself in a flashy, fantastical, CGI-augmented land, where she’s greeted by gold-clad Glinda (Deborah Cox) and befriends the Scarecrow (Avery Wilson), who’s in need of a brain; Tin Man (Phillip Johnson Richardson), who yearns for a heart, warbling “What I Would Do If I Could Feel”; and Lion (Kyle Ramar Freeman), seeking courage – as she eases on down the Yellow Brick Road – exuberantly choreographed by JaQuel Knight.
Dorothy’s dog Toto has been jettisoned but comedian Amber Ruffin’s narrative adds more background information about her companions than we’ve had before, although much of it either doesn’t really make sense or its meaning is drowned out by the excessive amplification of Charles Smalls’ score.
As for the titular Great & Powerful Wiz (suave Wayne Brady), he’s dancin’ through hip-hop Emerald City, along with the rest of the funky, Afro-futuristic candy-color clad cast – courtesy of costumer Sharen Davis.
Problem is: while earnest 24 year-old Nichelle Lewis has a sweetly delicate voice, eventually belting out “Home” in front of a star-studded night sky, she lacks ‘star quality’/emotional depth. As a result, this flimsy, underwhelming production still looks, feels and sounds like a family-friendly, second-rate road-show which, given the exorbitant price of Broadway tickets, is disappointing.
For far more fun, setting a Black spin on L. Frank Baum’s beloved fairy tale, search out Sidney Lumet’s “Wiz” film, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.