NBC presented the remake of the classic 1975 screenplay ‘The Wiz Live!‘ last night December 3, 2015 and it was a historic online event!
The one night only performance featured the debut performance of 19 year old Shanice Williams, as the lead character of Dorothy and an all-star supporting cast which included Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Common, Ne-Yo, Uzo Aduba, David Alan Grier, Amber Riley and Elijah Kelley.
Stephanie Mills (The original Dorothy) was even on board for the recreation of the American Classic, which took up two hours and 45 minutes of tv time. While I’m almost positive that it was entertaining to preteens, those of us over the age of 12 enjoyed it as well, and we partied online during the show by sharing our thoughts via social media (aka ‘Black Twitter).
Stephanie Mills took us ‘Home’ as Auntie Em…
Stephanie Mills played Dorothy in The Wiz’s original 1975 Broadway production, and she took on the role of Auntie Em in NBC’s Live version.? Mill’s sung “The Feeling We Once Had” during the scene and her performance proved that after 40 years, she hasn’t lost it!
Dorothy’s skirt got dragged…
Newcomer Shanice Williams did a marvelous job as Dorothy but ‘Black Twitter’ wasn’t seeing it for her skirt.? There were several instances during the telecast where her hemline desperately needed an extra inch or two and many viewers feel her style game was a bit off…
The Emerald City aka ‘The New Atlanta’
Queen Latifah’s studly ‘Wiz’ costume (insert lezz-bun jokes here)…
Queen Latifah was quite fetching in her man-drag as she belted “So You Wanted to See the Wizard” and when she was referred to as ‘sir’? the jokes just kept on coming…
Ne-Yo’s lack of lube… (insert gay (bottom vs top) joke here)
It must be hard to convey one’s emotions through silver face paint and a metallic half-mask, but when Ne-Yo sung “What Would I Do If I Could Feel” ? we all felt it…
Mary J. Blige’s ‘Evillene’ (Insert ‘No Mo Drama‘ joke here)…
Mary J. Blige rocked as the amusingly cantankerous Evillene but sadly, that bucket of water did her in for good. ? MJB’s rendition of “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News!” was amazing but it didn’t feel right without a few references to her classic collection.
Who knew ‘Crazy Eyes’ was a witch?
Uzo Aduba enchanted us all in her golden gown as Glenda the Good Witch and while we all caught a glimpse of some random stand underneath her as she floated to the stage to belt out “If You Believe,” who cares? And the final? was awesome (as if we didn’t know how it ends)
There’s no place like home!!
Oh… and while there were also people complaining about the lack of Caucasians on air during the event, ‘Black Twitter’ had an answer for that too…
Agreed!
Check out more high notes from ‘The Wiz Live!’