THE WIZ Will Come to Madison in October
Director Schele Williams and choreographer JaQuel Knight helm the revival with a cast featuring American Idol finalist Gabby Samone.
The Tony Award-winning Best Musical The Wiz is back and coming to Madison. Performances will run Tuesday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 11 in Overture Hall.
Fresh off its 50th Anniversary Tour, "The Wiz" returns with a new national tour, bringing the musical to audiences from coast to coast. This reimagining of The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway—from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock and '70s funk to its stirring tale of Dorothy's journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
Featuring a book by William F. Brown and a Tony Award-winning score by Charlie Smalls (and others), director Schele Williams (The Notebook), award-winning choreographer JaQuel Knight (Beyoncé's “Single Ladies,” Black is King), writer of additional material by Tony-nominated and Emmy-nominated writer and TV host Amber Ruffin (“The Amber Ruffin Show,” “Late Night With Seth Meyers”), Joseph Joubert (music supervision, orchestrations and music arrangements), Allen René Louis (vocal arrangements, music arrangements), and Emmy Award-winning music director and Grammy Award-winning writer Adam Blackstone and Terence Vaughn (Dance Music Arrangers) conjure up an Oz unlike anything ever seen before. A dynamite infusion of ballet, jazz and modern pop bring a whole new groove to easing on down the road.
Leading this new company are “American Idol” Season 23 finalist Gabby Samone as Dorothy, international vocalist and actor Bryan DeMond as The Wiz, “The Voice” Season 28 contestant Toni Lorene Baker as Glinda, April Renee Moye as Aunt Em/Evillene; multi-award-winning Gospel recording artist and “The Voice” Season 20 Live Playoffs contestant Jose E. Figueroa Jr. as Scarecrow, Jaelen Spellman as Tinman; and “The Voice” Season 25 Winner Asher HaVon as Lion.
The ensemble features Maurissa Cunningham, Ary'ana N. Davis, Marcus Elliott, Jay Fuqua, Chelsea Nicole Green, Malik Jordan, Kianna Kelly-Futch, Morgan Lewis, Travis Lucas, Kaiel Lynice Maynor, Allen McBride, Matthew J. McCray, John Ray Jr., Nadia Richardson, Khi'shawn A'quez Robinson, Vertreace Sanders and Daisy Wilson-Dzogbe.
"The Wiz" design team includes scenic design by Academy Award-winning Hannah Beachler (Black Panther, Beyoncé's Black is King and Lemonade), costume design by Emmy Award-winning and two-time Academy Award-nominated Sharen Davis (Ray, Dreamgirls), lighting design by Barrymore Award-winning Ryan J. O'Gara (Thoughts of a Colored Man), sound design by Jon Weston (Parade), video and projection design by Daniel Brodie (Motown the Musical), original wig design by Charles LaPointe (MJ the Musical) and original make-up design by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche (The Piano Lesson).
The production also includes “Everybody Rejoice” music and lyrics by Luther Vandross, as well as the “Emerald City Ballet” with music by Timothy Graphenreed.
Based on L. Frank Baum's children's book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” "The Wiz" takes one of the world's most enduring (and enduringly white) American fantasies and transforms it into an all-Black musical extravaganza for the ages.
"The Wiz" premiered on Broadway in 1975 and became an instant sensation, going on to win seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Ted Ross), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Dee Dee Bridgewater), Best Choreography (George Faison), and in a Broadway first, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Costume Design (Geoffrey Holder). “Ease on Down the Road” became the show's break-out single, and “Home” has since become a bona fide classic. That original production ran for four years (first at The Majestic Theatre and later at The Broadway Theatre)—and 1,672 performances—on Broadway. A 1978 film adaptation starred Diana Ross, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne, and marked Quincy Jones' first collaboration with Michael Jackson. The most recent Broadway revival played from March to August 2024 at the Marquis Theater in NYC and the First National & 50th Anniversary North American tour kicked off in February of 2025 traveling the country until May of 2026 ending in Toledo, Ohio.
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