*Wayne Brady is set to star in the revival of “The Wiz” on Broadway, with Tony-nominated producer Kandi Burruss and her husband Todd Tucker serving as producers of the production.
Brady stars in the title role along with Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Deborah Cox as Glinda Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em and Evillene, Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tinman, and Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow, Deadline reports.
Kandi and Todd produce with Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, and Ambassador Theatre Group.
In an interview with TheWrap, Burruss admitted that she knew from the outset that a revival of “The Wiz” would be met with harsh criticism from the Black community.
“We knew from the jump that we were going to be under a microscope from our community, from the culture, about who did these roles because these roles are iconic,” Burruss said. “We made sure everybody in this show could sing down!”
“The Wiz” premiered on Broadway in 1975 and became an instant sensation, going on to win seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
Charles Smalls’ Motown musical reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway—from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock, and 70s funk to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world,” EUR’s LaRita Shelby wrote previously.
“The Wiz” revival will run for a month at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles ahead of a March 29 Broadway premiere.
Burruss is the leading financier of the production and didn’t hesitate to give her creative input, according to TheWrap.
“There were some parts where I was like, ‘Why isn’t the beat hitting hard enough? Right here, these drums got to hit harder. Or even with just simple things, ‘What’s going on with the sound system? I need to hear more of this.’ They asked me my opinion on those things,” Burruss told the outlet. “We gave our opinion about the costumes … The people who are the leads in hair and makeup, wardrobe, choreography, everything, they obviously have their say, their opinion — but the lead producers, we get to have our say as well.”
Burruss also had input on casting “The Wiz.”
“I was getting videotapes of all the castings before, so I already knew before they picked anybody. I did not have any final decisions on everybody, but I definitely got to put in my input of who I like and who I didn’t like,” Burruss said, who boasted of the impressive cast and the opportunity to bring fresh actors to the Broadway stage.
“You got Deborah Cox in there, Wayne Brady, you got Avery… Nichelle, her voice? Angelic,” she said.
“I don’t think enough young new talent gets that opportunity,” she said. “We keep seeing the same faces being used for everything, so we wanted to have a breakout new person, and she’s amazing.”
Burruss praised Wilson’s performance, saying the social media star “kills it as Scarecrow.”
“I didn’t even know he could dance like that. Avery’s hitting flips and all kinds of stuff … I did have questions [before he was cast], like ‘What’s his acting like? What’s his dancing like?’ They really, really, worked with him,” Burruss said. “He’s taking it up a notch. I think everybody’s going to be pleasantly surprised and excited. You’re already going to be expecting him to sing down — which he does every night — but to see his performance is, like, wow.”
READ MORE: She’s Done! Kandi Burruss Says She’s Leaving ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ | WATCH
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