When The Wiz was in production at Shaunice Williams’ middle school, the star was too nervous to audition for the part of Dorothy.
Now, just a handful of years later, the Jersey girl is looking to make a name for herself in the silver-slipper wearing role that eluded her in her early teens.
Sitting across from Williams – and the rest of NBC’s The Wiz Live! Cast, which includes Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Neyo and Amber Riley of Glee fame – leaves you with an unavoidable feeling of excitement. From growing up on the Judy Garland original to having the Diana Ross-helmed film stuck in their VHS players, each member of the cast has a special connection with the musical that ushered in a new era of diversity on Broadway.
Queen Latifah was just five years old when she saw The Wiz on stage for the first time.
“It was mind-blowing to me, to be honest with you,” she says during a New York City press day. “Having never been to Broadway and then seeing this for the first time — people who looked like me. People who could be my auntie or my cousins or my mom, for that matter.”
Director Kenny Leon has a similar story.
“I grew up a poor kid in Florida, living with my stepfather and my mother and we used to sit down every year and watch the Wizard of Oz,” Leon says. “I think that’s probably the foundation for everything I’ve done since. When The Wiz came on the scene and made it more specific for my culture, then that broadened the scope and impact.”
It’s that connection that led them all down the yellow brick road when NBC decided it was heading to Oz for its annual live production show.
But while everyone involved remains respectful of the 1974 musical, let’s be clear, The Wiz Live! intends to take the old school and make it new again.
While the beloved story of Dorothy travelling with the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow to meet the Wizard and find her way back home is still the show’s foundation, writer Harvey Firestein (Kinky Boots, Newsies) wanted his heroine to resemble a modern-day young woman.
“I made her not a victim,” Firestein says. “I made her in charge of her own life and I made it about a real journey to figure something out.”
Another change to the story – casting the Wiz as a woman.
In a time when the roles for women on TV and in film are a talked-about topic, executive producer Craig Zadan said he had no doubt that it was a woman, a specific woman, that should be filling those big green shoes.
“The first call we always make on a project is to Queen Latifah,” Zadan jokes.
The show is also bringing in a fresh crop of talent.
Ne-Yo — who’s taking on the Tin Man — is used to finding himself on the top of the music charts, not a production stage at a studio out in Long Island – where the show will be filmed come December 3rd.
“I’m trying to keep up with the greatness that I’m surrounded by,” the singer says.
He’s also bringing something original to the musical he grew up on as a kid. The singer, along with music producer Harvey Mason Jr., music director Stephen Oremus and Elijah Kelley, crafted a new song specifically for their upcoming performance.
Meant as a connecting piece between two acts, the song held its own set of challenges for the star.
“In order to do this song, I had to not factor in that I was writing for The Wiz,” he says. “Nothing you do is good enough when you do that.”
Incredible costumes, fantastic set design and updated dance moves – everything from the Nae Nae to Cirque Du Soleil acrobatic numbers make an appearance in the show – are part of the new version the stars are hoping to push out to a new generation.
“It’s something that my mom first saw when she was young and now it means something to me,” Riley says. “And now my niece is going to be able to watch it and she’s four years old. When it can stand the test of time that means you’re a part of something great.”
For Williams, who used to listen to the show’s soundtrack during car rides with her dad, being part of a story that shaped her career from an early age is the biggest blessing of all.
“I have so many family members who are like ‘The Wiz is my favorite show. This is what it means to me. You have to do this,’” Williams says. “I want to bring that to this generation too. My family just tells me ‘Stay humble, remember God. God first, that’s how you got here, that’s how you’re going to maintain.”
And any pressure the young star might be feeling is being dealt with the only way she knows how.
“Kenny, our director, always says, ‘If you’re going to pray, don’t worry and if you’re going to worry, don’t pray.’ I’m going to be praying.”
The Wiz Live! airs Dec. 3rd on NBC at 8 p.m.
