ABC/Randy HolmesQueen Latifah stars as the first female Wizard in upcoming live musical broadcast The Wiz Live, and she’ll never forget seeing the original stage musical in the 1970s.
“The Wiz on Broadway was one of the first plays my mom and dad took me to as a kid,” she tells Parade. “It really changed my world to see something performed live, to see the theatrics of it all — the lighting, the colors, the music, the set changes, the dances — and it was a black interpretation.”
Stephanie Mills starred as Dorothy in the 1975 Tony award winning musical, and she returns as Auntie Em in the new television production. Latifah says it is very special to work with Mills, whose work on Broadway was a major influence on her when she was growing up. “That they would find her and make her a part of this was so exciting,” Latifah says. “To me, she’s our good-luck charm.”
The Wiz Live airs December 3 at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central on NBC starring Latifah, Mills, Mary J. Blige, Common, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier and newcomer Shanice Williams in the role of Dorothy.
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
