NBC Planning Live TV Version of The Wiz Musical

[QueenOfHearts]

THey got it in

[YRBB]

Just as I expected, The Wiz did really well in the ratings (better than Pan, but not as great as Sound of Music).

[NothinButAttitude]

Yay! Glad they did well. I wish they would've done better but at least the overall reception is better than the two previous live shows.

[DramatistDreamer]

I read that NBC will be showing an encore presentation on Dec. 19th so I'm thinking ratings were good enough.  I wonder what the overall ratings picture will be once DVR and streaming are counted (the Wiz is now up on the NBC.com website)?

[Mr. Vixen]

So what was everyone's favorite part? I have to say I was most impressed by Mary, Amber, Uzo and Queen.

[NothinButAttitude]

The whole show! It was perfection from top to bottom.

[DramatistDreamer]

"You don't want to go in there"  LOL, that Emerald City sequence was stuck in my head for days!

 

I thought Elijah Kelley as the Scarecrow was very underrated, his comedic timing, though understated was good, particularly when he kept trying to drag Dorothy away from Tin Man (Ne-Yo's singing was so good!).  I know people are comparing Kelley to MJ but people forget 2 things:

1.  It's Michael Jackson, who was one of a kind.

2.  The movie version was a totally different vehicle from any live version.  In film, you have the benefit of doing multiple takes until a scene or sequence is shot to the director's satisfaction.  If the Director wants to do 23 takes of the same scene until it is the way he/she wants it, so be it.  On stage, you only get 1 single take and you have to roll with whatever comes your way.   In the critiques of The Wiz Live, I wished people would've remembered that.

 

Speaking of the stage, in the B'way version, I read that Toto didn't make the journey with Dorothy to Oz, so I'm not sure what all the fuss was over but the memes were pretty funny.

I think some of the confusion is in the fact that not many people saw the B'way staging while tons only know the movie version.  Also, at the very beginning, Kenny Leon said that this version would be a fusion of the two previous versions (stage & screen) but later began saying that this latest version would be using the B'way musical as it's template.  I think most people didn't realize that.

 

When the musical goes on Tour on the stage, I think will be a true test and an opportunity.  I imagine they'll be using more Broadway babies in the roles that were filled by stars (I thought Aduba was wonderful, by the way!).  And I think with engagement from a live audience, performers like Elijah will shine even more.  If Shanice Williams stays on as Dorothy, I can see her growing as a performer over time, she did very well, carrying so much material her first time out.

And I wish the production could utilize Stephanie Mills a bit more, she was perfection as Aunt Em but if they could keep her when the production hits the stage, perhaps they may rotate her in different roles, if she wants it, anything to keep her with the production.

 

By the way, I saw it on NBC.com without commercials (hooked up my laptop to my TV) and it was so much better without the 101 commercial breaks, which makes me think that the staged/B'way version will be even better.

[DramatistDreamer]

Okay, I didn't see the latest SNL episode but this is funny:

 

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-wiz/2949249