It
was a highly anticipated live television moment that was lauded by
critics when NBC aired a three-hour adaptation of the Broadway musical
The Wiz on Thursday night.
However,
even though the 1975 show was written to feature an all-black cast -
and the network stayed true to the script - social media erupted during
the screening with calls of racism.
Several viewers took to Twitter to express their disdain about the event, accusing NBC of being discriminatory.
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Groundbreaking: NBC aired a live musical special titled The Wiz Live on Thursday night featuring an all-black cast
One
user tweeted to the major network: 'Minorities act like they're the
victims, but can you imagine if we made an all-white version of The
Wiz?'
Another
user wrote: 'why are there no whites starring in #TheWiz? this is
racist! can u imagine if it were the other way? #whitelivesmatter
#TheWizLive.'
Additionally,
a viewer posted: '#TheWiz on @NBC is a PC Disaster. An all-black Wizard
of Oz? Give me a freaking break. I could say that's racist but...'
Others
were more positive as one wrote: '@nbc it has been the other way before
and we don't complain about all white casting, i.e the notebook, 500
days of summer..etc.'
NBC have not yet commented on the complaints.
Its
most likely the complainants did not realize that The Wiz, a loose
adaptation of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, was written as a retelling
of the classic story from an African-American context, Buzzfeed reported.
Penned
by composer Charlie Smalls, the show won a Tony award and was adapted
into a film in 1978 starring Michael Jackson, Dianna Ross and Richard
Pryor.
Ouch: Many were unafraid to express their opinions
Cooler heads: Others combated the racist tweets with their own opinions
'People seriously scare me': Other Twitter users did not back down
Excited: Oprah Winfrey definitely seemed to be excited about the big event
The
musical similarly featured several talented stars including Queen
Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Common, David Alan Grier, Ne-Yo, Uzo Aduba,
Elijah Kelley and Shanice Williams as Dorothy Gale.
The
show begins much like the 1939 classic by showing the life of a rural
family as Dorothy attempts to run away after her dog Toto was taken away
as she exclaimed: 'You can't run away from home if you're not home to
start with.'
Stephanie
Mills, who starred in the original Broadway musical as Dorothy,
portrayed Dorthy's Aunt Em as she sung the first song of the event: The
Feeling We Once Had.
Star of the show: Shanice Williams played the main character of the special: Dorothy Gale
Big night: It begins much like the 1939 classic by showing the life of a rural family before a huge storm hits
Legend: Stephanie Mills, who played
Dorothy in the original Broadway run of The Wiz, sung the first song of
the show as she played Dorothy's Aunt Em
Several
actors dressed in intricate albums mimicked the storm as Dorthy gets
caught up in the whirlwind and is even carried up by wires.
She awakens and finds herself in the majestic land of Oz as the home lands on top of the Wicked Witch Of The East killing her.
Dorothy is then gifted witch's blinged-out shimmering silver heels by The Good Witch of the North played by Glee's Amber Riley
Dorothy
meets a motley crew of characters including a few witches as she tries
to find her way to meet the Wizard by following the yellow brick road.
If they only had a brain: Viewers were
obviously unaware the show was exactly as it was supposed to be, having
been written as a Wizard of Oz retelling with an African-American spin
The
first of Dorothy's gang that she runs into is the Scarecrow, played by
Elijah Kelley, who is on the search for a brain but stuck in a
predicament as he is surrounded by crows who break out into a song
called You Can't Win.
Dorothy
then makes a stand as she tells the crows: ''I already killed one
Wicked Witch today and I wasn't even mad at her,' leaving the crows to
back down.
They
then run into the Tin-Man, played by Ne-Yo, who needs oil to be able to
sing and move. The character joins the group as he is searching for a
heart.
When
they continue on their journey they run into the Cowardly Lion, played
by David Allen Grier, who sings a song about being a 'mean old lion.' He
too joins the crew in search of courage.
In la la land: After meeting an odd
cast of characters, she meets one helpful one in The Good Witch of the
North played by Glee's Amber Riley
Helpful hand: The two hit it off as The Witch explains that Dorothy needs to see The Wiz
Heading out: Dorothy showed off her new blinged out silver shoes, which became a big part of the story
Lighting the path: She certainly seemed to enjoy walking down the yellow brick road
Lost in the world: The talented 19-year-old star sung an emotional ballad
After
a ballad about the lion's courage titled Be A Lion, the group run into
dangerous poppies, whom Dorothy was previously warned about.
Common
is shown as the Bouncer, the gatekeeper to the Wizard of Oz's property,
and denies the group entrance into the gates but after Dorothy explains
that she is wearing the Wicked Witch of the East's shoes and talked
about her journey, she is led right in.
There
is another hold up as several others tell the group they do not want to
meet The Wiz as one said: 'I can't imagine what he'd do to a little
girl…you don't want to go in there.'
However they allow the group to go through as they spot Dorothy's shoes.
First of the gang: Shortly after the
beginning of her journey, she runs into the Scarecrow, who is played
by Scarecrow, played by Elijah Kelley
Predicament: He wants to leave but is surrounded by a group of crows
Piece of mind: The Scarecrow is on the hunt for a brain
They
finally meet The Wiz, portrayed by Queen Latifah, and the group is
scared off as they run into a powerful song sung by the 45-year-old
hitmaker.
Each of the characters tell The Wiz what they want out of their visit as they are intimidated by her strong tone.
Ne-Yo's solo was next – a slow track called What Would I Do If I Could Feel.
The Wiz agrees to grant the crew their wishes under one condition; they kill the Wicked Witch of the West named Evillene.
Stuck: The duo then run into Tin Man, played by Ne-Yo, at a scrapyard
Showing his skills: After getting oil around his mouth, he begins to sing
Off to see the wizard: Tin man joins them on the journey
The
Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow and Tin Man seem uninterested in
completing the mission but they break out into song as Dorothy tries to
convince the tree creatures.
They eventually begin singing in total harmony and agree to not give up on the mission.
The
Wicked Witch of the West Evillene, portrayed by Mary J. Blige, is
revealed in a big flowy black dress as she yells at all her servants
then goes into the song Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.
Altogether now: The lion completed the foursome as they made their way to see The Wiz
Dynamic duo: The Cowardly Lion and Dorothy show they are in sync as she helps him find courage
Tempting: The crew were surrounded by dangerous poppies but were able to get away from them
After
the song, she is alerted that Dorothy and the gang are on their way to
kill her and at one point Blige says: 'So Dorothy thinks she can march
her skinny as* up in here and destroy me?'
Then seems to have forgot her lines a bit as she stumbles on her words before she said 'I know how to handle a brat like that.'
Evillene then
she proceeds to unleash her wicked warriors portrayed by Cirque du
Soleil performers as they capture the group in a net.
The
group are now under the rule of Evillene as Dorothy begins to argue
with her as she says: 'You know what? You ain't even got game enough to
be wicked, you're just plain old, everyday, passable mean.'
Evillene
says, 'Before you go casting shade I'd take yourself a good look in the
mirror,' then it will be over if she gives back her sister's shoes but
Dorothy refused as she made a promise.
Evillene
then says she is going to eat the lion when Dorothy splashes water on
the witch, who gets electrocuted and dies, as Dorothy says: 'Oh lord, I
did it again.'
All those that worked under the witch celebrate with a song and dance to Brand New Day.
Tough customer: Once the crew reached
the doors of The Wiz's palace they had a bit of trouble with Bouncer,
who was the gatekeeper played by common
Another hiccup: They were then stopped by several dressed in green
Ticket in: One of them pointed out Dorothy's shoes and also let them pass
They
go back to The Wiz's palace as they speak to a big statue who says that
they cannot grant the wish, the group proceeds to pull the plug on the
statue as they find 'The Wiz' dressed up in a robe as they find out she
is a phony and actually a woman.
The Wiz proceeds to admit 'I'm nothing but a hustler from Omaha' before saying she holds no actual powers.
Queen
does encourage each of the members as she tells them that they already
possess what they want before the crew encourages her to let them use
her balloon to make it back to Omaha.
Queen's
character reveals her true self to the people of Oz as she addresses
them with a speech as she said: ''It's not enough to know where you're
going, you also got to know where you're coming from.'
She
then broke out into Y'all Got It and when it is time to fly away,
Dorothy chooses to stay with the group instead of going with The Wiz.
The
Good Witch of the North returns and Dorothy asks to home home but
brings in The Good Witch of The South named Glinda, played by Uzo Aduba.
The
Good Witch of The South draped in an intricate gold outfit made of what
looked like hair tells Dorothy 'The magic is inside of you,' before
breaking out into Believe In Yourself which tells her to 'click her heels three times then she will be there.'
She
proceeds to say goodbye to her partners in crime by kissing them all on
the cheek and breaking out into an emotional song Home.
Dorothy clicks her heels to be greeted by her dog Toto and her aunt Em.
The
Wiz was originally a Broadway play in the Seventies featuring an
urbanised retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of
African-American culture.
A big-budget adaptation was made for film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and was released in 1978.
Spooky: They finally arrived at The Wiz's home
Big reveal: Queen Latifah was seen in all green for her role as The Wiz
Powerful: She broke out into song shortly after the meeting
Interesting: The foursome referred to The Wiz as sir
Emotional: Ne-Yo belted out solo ballad What Would I Do If I Could Feel
BUT WHAT DID THE CRITICS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE WIZ LIVE?
The third time's the charm for NBC.
An
exuberant, inventive 'The Wiz Live!' on Thursday night breathed new
life into the notion of full-scale musicals on live TV with a happy
serving of 70s soul and R&B, updated with a 2015 vibe.
Starring
a nice mix of pop music heavyweights, Hollywood stars and Broadway
veterans, the show had a heart and playfulness that was missing from
'The Sound of Music Live!' with Carrie Underwood and 'Peter Pan Live!'
It even came in under three hours.
This
time 12 cameras on Long Island captured even higher stakes with
complicated costumes, fire bursts, LED screens, a live dog, smoke and
Cirque Du Soleil acrobats in bouncy prosthetic stilts that looked sort
of like curved snowshoes. And, in a nice touch, Stephanie Mills, the
original Broadway Dorothy, played Auntie Em.
Five stars: The Wiz was well-received by critics
The
TV musical starred 19-year-old newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy,
who got stronger as the night went on and who crushed the song's finale,
'Home;' a strong Queen Latifah as the Wiz with real stage presence;
Amber Riley, a very blue good witch of the North who destroyed 'He's the
Wizard;' and a perfectly evil Mary J. Blige as the Wicked Witch of the
West.
But
it was the guys on Thursday who really shined: Ne-Yo, as a winning Tin
Man, moving fluidly despite a rusty suit, who beautifully delivered 'To
Be Able to Feel;' Elijah Kelley as an athletic, loose-limbed Scarecrow,
who gave us a funky 'You Can't Win' while hoisted on a pole; and a
dreadlocked, extremely furry David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion, one
who gets seriously frisky with some poppies.
After
a slowish, understated start in the Kansas countryside and an
underwhelming tornado scene, the show got into a groove once the four
pals eased on down the road. The four had real chemistry and each served
the piece respectfully.
The
show was adapted from 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum,
with a book by William F. Brown, and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls.
The production opened on Broadway in 1975 and won seven Tonys,
including best musical.
A
1978 movie version of 'The Wiz' starred Diana Ross, Lena Horne and
Richard Pryor. Michael Jackson co-starred as the Scarecrow, with Nipsey
Russell as the Tin Man and Ted Ross as the Lion. 'The Wiz Live!' honored
its rich history and yet also added to it.
The
live event was directed with good cheer and genuine spirit by Tony
Award-winner Kenny Leon, and mixed songs from the stage and film. If
anything, the high level of the performances exposed some weaknesses in
the original songs and story.
New
material was written by Harvey Fierstein, who included iPad and
cholesterol jokes and a bad Spice Girls reference. A dynamite new song
that served as the Act One closer, 'We Got It,' was partly written by
Ne-Yo and Kelley, a cool development that meant the Tin Man and
Scarecrow got writing credits this time.
Choreographer
Fatima Robinson's dancing was modern and light, as when she created a
joyful, smiling 'Everybody Rejoice,' and a fantastic visual introduction
to Emerald City complete with voguing, like a party at Lady Gaga's.
Costumer
Paul Tazewell's geometric and colorful designs in Munchkinland gave way
to scary crows, nasty flying monkeys and steampunk workers. His Lion,
Tin Man and Scarecrow were inspired genius, while set designer Derek
McLane was strongest after the tiny model houses in Kansas.
This
version of 'The Wiz' is being planned for an extended life - on
Broadway - and this telecast will surely boost that effort. It will join
'Wicked,' which ran a commercial during the telecast, as if in welcome.
There's room for both these Oz tales, and for 'The Wiz,' it will mean
that Dorothy has once again returned 'home.'
Source: Associated Press
