‘The Wiz’ Casts Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy for Broadway and Nationwide Tour

Nichelle Lewis will painting Dorothy within the upcoming Broadway revival of The Wiz.

The Virginian actress, who was found on TikTok and chosen following greater than 2,000 submissions for the position, was additionally introduced by producers on Monday because the lead within the upcoming Nationwide Tour. Kicking off in Baltimore on the Hippodrome Theatre and working from Sept. 23-30, the tour will proceed to beforehand introduced cities throughout the U.S. earlier than its restricted run in New York.

Wayne Brady was beforehand introduced for the position of the Wiz on Broadway, following appearances in San Francisco Golden Gate Theatre and Los Angeles (Feb. 13 – March 3), with Alan Mingo Jr. portraying the position in further tour cities further together with Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago, Des Moines, Tempe and San Diego.

The musical additionally stars Deborah Cox as Glinda; Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em and Evillene; Kyle Ramar Freeman because the Lion; Phillip Johnson Richardson because the Tinman; and Avery Wilson because the Scarecrow. Each Richardson and Wilson will make their Broadway debuts of their respective roles. 

Lewis’ casting announcement follows the information of each Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker becoming a member of the musical’s manufacturing group, which already included Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland and Ambassador Theatre Group.

Introduced in December 2022 and set to function an infusion of ballet, jazz and trendy pop, The Wiz revival will likely be directed by Schele Williams and encompasses a guide written by William F. Brown, with a rating by Charlie Smalls and others. Music supervision, orchestrations and music preparations are helmed by Joseph Joubert with choreography led by Jaquel Knight in his Broadway debut. Extra materials comes from Tony-nominated and Emmy-nominated author Amber Ruffin, Joseph Joubert — who labored on music supervision, orchestrations and music preparations, in addition to Allen René Louis, for vocal and music preparations.

Its design group contains scenic designer Hannah Beachler (Black Panther, Beyoncé’s Black is King and Lemonade); costume designer Sharen Davis (Ray, Dreamgirls); lighting designer Ryan J. O’Gara (Ideas of a Coloured Man); sound designer Jon Weston (Parade); projection designer Daniel Brodie (Motown the Musical); and wig designer Charles LaPointe (MJ the Musical).

The all-Black musical relies on L. Frank Baum’s kids’s guide The Fantastic Wizard of Oz, and initially opened in Baltimore at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in 1974. It could switch to Broadway’s Majestic Theatre in 1975, working for a complete of 1,672 throughout 4 years, together with a switch to The Broadway Theatre. As a part of the unique manufacturing, the musical received seven Tony Awards, together with finest musical, finest unique rating and finest course of a musical. The unique manufacturing ran 4 years for a complete of 1,672 performances and included a switch to The Broadway Theatre.

The musical obtained an iconic 1978 movie adaptation, which starring Diana Ross, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne, and served as Quincy Jones’ first collaboration with Michael Jackson. The Wiz Reside!, NBC’s TV manufacturing of the stage model, was broadcast in 2015.