J.R.

Bloomer

History of Musical Theater

Dr. Tim Baxter-Ferguson

The Wiz

Book:

Musical Title: The Wiz

Music: Charlie Smalls

Lyrics: Charlie Smalls

Book: William F. Brown

Performance History:

The show started in Baltimore in 1974 and moved to Broadway in 1975. The original cast

included: Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, Hinton Battle as the Scarecrow.Tiger Haynes as the Tin

Man, and Ted Ross as the Lion. The musical toured the US in 1976 and a film adaptation was

done in 1978 and starred Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell and Diana Ross.

Critical Reception:

Initial reviews were mixed to positive, but Frank Rich of the New York Times had this to say:

"What made The Wiz surprisingly moving was that its creators found a connection between Baum's

Kansas fantasy and the pride of urban black Americans. When Glinda, the good witch, musically

instructed Dorothy to 'believe in herself,' she seemed to be delivering a broader inspirational message.

Memorable Quotes:
 Slide some oil to me

Let it trickle down my spine

If you don't have S.T.P.

Crisco will do just fine

This song is memorable for the sole reason that Jamaas was going to sing it for class, so was

singing it a lot that morning and it got stuck in my head. Also, it is very catchy. The music in this show is

really great.

When I think of home

I think of a place where there's love overflowing

I wish I was home

I wish I was back there with the things I been knowing

This song is memorable to me because, while the show had a lot of heart all throughout, this

number really was emotional and felt genuine. It really is one of the best songs in the show.

Summary:

Dorothy lives with her Aunt Em and her Uncle Henry on their Kansas Farm, but Dorothy is a

dreamer. Sh constantly yearns for the world beyond the farm. A tornado come and, in a huge Tornado

Ballet, carried Dorothy and her house all the way to Oz and the Land of the Munchkins. Dorothys house

lands on and kills the Wicked Witch of the East. Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, appears and

directs Dorothy to the Wizard of Oz, and gives Dorothy the dead witchs silver shoes. On the way to the

Wizard, Dorothy befriends a Scarecrow, a Tinman and a Lion. The four friends haed to see the Wizard

together, and the Wizard agrees to grant their wishes only if they kill the Wicked Witch of the West. The

four friends head to the Wicked Witch and are attacked by monkeys, which carry Dorothy and the Lion,

who have been affected by the poppies, to the witches castle. Dorothy eventually throws a bucket of water

on the witch and melts her.

 The four companions head back to the wizard, but he refuses to honor his promise. They discover

the Wizard hiding behind a screen, and discover that he is really just a simple man from Omaha who

accidentally landed in Oz. He gives Dorothy and her friends things that represent the fours desires, and

agrees to use his hot air balloon to take Dorothy back to Kansas, but as he is addressing the citizens of the

Emerald City, his balloon accidentally takes off without Dorothy. Addaperle appears and summons her

sister, Glinda, who gets Dorothy home.

Themes:

1. Home: Home represents safety and comfort. In the beginning, Dorothy dreamed of a life

away from her home, but when she actually got her adventure all she wanted was to go home.

We all take home for granted sometimes.

2. Friendship: Dorothy finds new friends in the scarecrow, Tinman and lion. Together, they

defeat the Wicked Witch of the West. All four of these companions dont realize that they

already had the things they were seeking, they just had to believe in themselves and thei

abilities.

Why:

The Wiz deserves its place in history as an early example of Broadways mainstream acceptance

of works with an all-black cast, but unlike some of the Black Musicals that came before it, the Wiz

shied away from the politics of protest. Instead, the show manages to celebrate blackness and African

American culture. The show was a predecessor to later works like Dreamgirls and to an extent Memphis.

The show was one of a few black musicals of the seventies, some of the others being Purlie and Raisin,

but unlike Purlie and Raisin it was less about politics and more about a celebration of culture.

The shows book and music are completely integrated, which is to be expected at this point in

history, but it does a much better job at integration than Memphis did, and Memphis came much later.

Music flows directly out of dialogue and is very epressive of the characters who sing them.
 Its pretty crazy to look at how far weve come since Showboat. Showboat tried its best to shed

lught on some serious topics about racism, but failed to deliver on many levels. Then theres the Wiz, a

major production, on Broadway, with an all-black cast. Compared to Showboat, the musical has come a

long, long way.

Reader Response:

I really enjoyed The Wiz. It is a fun, lighthearted affair with some amazing music. I mean, its

basically just the Wizard of Oz, but a lot more fun.

The score is really the best thing about this production, in my opinion. The music is catchy and

evocative, and everything has a consistent style. The music may not be as indicative of a time and place

as something like Brigadoon, but it does have a consistent style. Because the show exists sort of outside

of a real world place, it can get away with this. No songs feel out of place in The Wiz. Everything feels

very deliberate and a lot of fun.

It's the Wizard of Oz, so this is to be expected, but theres no dumb, cliche love plot thrown in the

mix, which makes me happy. The constant love stories, like in Oklahoma! or Showboat or almost every

musical of all time, grow a bit tired after a while. The Wiz contains no love ballads, which is a welcome

change from Showboats three.

I think the book is a little weak. It feels a bit rushed. While the music is phenomenal, and

definitely advances plot, the book overall goes by so fast. Where Memphis failed in song integration, it

made up for by having a great book with clear themes, and the opposite is true for the Wiz. The music is

amazing and well-integrated into the plot in the Wiz, but the book feels a bit weak.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed the Wiz for its great music and its lighthearted tone. While it failed

in the book department, it made up for it in the music department.