In honor of this week's big casting coup coming in the form of the announcement of original Dorothy Stephanie Mills joining the cast of NBC's live musical presentation of THE WIZ later this year, titled THE WIZ LIVE!, today we are posing some carefully chosen casting suggestions that line up with the thoughtful and affectionate selection of Mills as Auntie Em by taking a look at some of the other original leads and stars associated with the property who could be perfect fits for the live telecast as well as some familiar faces who would be ideally cast in the Oz-centric musical spectacular when it arrives live this December. Tony Award-winning Broadway divas to Hollywood superstars and far beyond, this wide-ranging list has more potential than munchkins in Oz!
1. An unknown Dorothy. Just as Stephanie Mills was a newcomer when she arrived on the scene to portray the most pivotal role in the show when THE WIZ first took Broadway by storm in 1975, giving a fresh-faced star-to-be a showcase such as this is just what the Wizard ordered. And, given that this is a live telecast, the potential excitement generated by a star being born literally before our very eyes is almost too delectable and enticing to resist. Thankfully, that seems to be the plan. 2. Ken Page reprising his role as The Lion. Although many of the original cast members of THE WIZ may have passed on or retired (RIP Tiger Haynes), Page is still as fierce and ferocious as ever and would be ideally cast to reprise his recognizable role which he first played as part of the replacement cast during the original run - and likely glean the same roar of approval that he did more than 40 years ago. If not that, certainly a cameo as the Gatekeeper is in order.
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