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PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: The Wiz — On the Road Again
By Harry Haun
19 Jun 2009
On this ultimate road trip to get back to Kansas, you'll recall, Dorothy is accompanied by a brainless Scarecrow, a heartless Tinman and a chicken-livered Lion — "circus people," as one character airily (and not inaccurately) calls them. All are bound for The Wiz, whom they think will remedy their respective deficits.
The man who would be The Wiz is a fresh recruit from films, comedian Orlando Jones. "New York theatre is something I've been waiting to do and talking about doing for some time," he admitted. "I had the opportunity to do Fences with Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett at the Pasadena Playhouse. I was really fortunate and got nominated for an Ovation Award out there. This is my second foray back to the stage since then, so it's just incredible to be here and experience that. I'm having the time of my life. It really is just incredible — in every sense of the word, in every possible way. I love doing it every night."
The Scarecrow of the group, lanky Christian Dante White, brings Ray Bolger's elastic physicality to the part. "I saw him when I was little, but I paid more attention to the lion," he said. "I purposefully did not watch the movie of The Wiz once I got this. I didn't want to copy anything Michael Jackson did because he did everything so brilliantly. I wanted to put my own stamp on it."
Joshua Henry stepped manfully out of the In the Heights ensemble and into the Tinman suit where he shined like a new dime with the one song Luther Vandross contributed to the score, "Everybody Rejoice (Brand New Day)."
"It's a wonderful song — probably the most favorite song that I have sung to date since I've been performing," Henry confessed. "It's about connecting with the feeling or trying to reconnect with something you've had. I know what it's like to want to get a feeling back — that's something that's so universal — so I love connecting on that level. And the music really helps that song. It's such a powerful moment."
Large of girth and heart, James Monroe Iglehart admitted to more than a passing resemblance to his character ("the Lion is a lot like me — that's who the hell I am"), and he was fortunate to have seen the Tony-winning originator of the role. "I saw Ted Ross do it when he came on tour, and I've loved the role ever since."
All glammed up and dressed to kill, svelte and sexy Dawnn Lewis is a radically reconceptualized Addaperle, The Good Witch of the North. Her theatrical attack falls somewhere between Bette Davis doing Margo Channing and Carol Burnett doing Norma Desmond. "I'm inspired by both of those women.
"The Wizard of Oz was a show that I have watched since childhood, and The Wiz was the first movie that I played for my daughter, so to be a part of this particular show is something I truly relate to and can identify with.
"Until I watched the show from the green room, I didn't realize what build-up there was for Addaperle, so I got nervous, but it's a great character, and it's a great show. I think it's cast perfectly because everyone just hits it head-on and owns the world. I hope The Wiz will live on. It's lived since 1975. I wasn't that old, then. I'll be 40 next week — June 28, but to wake up and do what you love doing is a blessing."
Another major source of merriment is Tichina Arnold, who struts out Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, in bossy, go-girl style. That was her attitude in going after the part, and it hasn't changed. "When I met with the director for the role and had the original interview, that's along the same lines of what we did tonight," she recalled. "He just kinda let me go. Every other day I would ask him, 'Are you sure you don't want to give me any notes or push-or-pull me in any particular direction?' He said, 'No, if you go somewhere I don't want you to go, I'll be sure to tell you.' And he has never said a word, except 'I'm so glad you're here.' So I love Tommy Kail."
LaChanze, a Tony winner for The Color Purple, does a two-hat trick here, opening the show as Aunt Em with "The Feeling We Once Had" and closing it as Glinda with "A Rested Body Is a Rested Mind" and "Believe in Yourself." "These songs are written pretty much in the golden tones of my voice. They were easy songs for me, and I loved working on this piece. And the cast — everyone has been super-cool. It has been a wonderful experience from the beginning. It was a dream come true. This is one of my favorite musicals of all time. I've always wanted to be a part of this, and I never had the opportunity." [One reason for that: Stephanie Mills, who originated the part of Dorothy in The Wiz in 1975 at age 15, was reluctant to give the role up and returned to Broadway in it in a 1984 revival.]
LaChanze gives Kail credit for the double assignment. "That was the director's idea to do that," she said. "He said, 'I want to start with love and end with love." She takes her curtain call in Glinda glitter rather in Aunt Em grubbiness. "That really would have been magical because there was no time to make that change. I have sparkles all over my body. There is no way Aunt Em could have come back after that."
Bill Berloni, who trained Sandy for Annie and wrote a book about it ("Broadway Tales"), was in charge of Dorothy's dog, Toto (played by Nigel) —a fairly uncomplicated matter of jumping into, and out of, Ashanti's arms from time to time.
"He's only in the first scene and the last scene, so it was a very simple show for me. I actually took the book writer aside tonight and said, 'Why didn't you let Toto go to Oz with her?' He said, 'Well, we couldn't find the trainer to train the dog to do it."
So, every dog doesn't have his day — at least not Toto (not now, anyway).
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The cast of The Wiz take an opening night curtain call.
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
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