When The Wiz first arrived on Broadway in 1974, the stage musical—starring Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle, and André De Shields—introduced a pop culture landmark that would go on to inspire generations of Black performers and creatives to dream in technicolor. The Afrofuturist adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a bonafide cultural rite of passage thanks to its depiction of joyous liberation told through a soundtrack fueled by gospel and R&B. The way it allowed people of color to see themselves fully represented in fantasy storytelling, was a first—even before it was further cemented into history with its 1978 silver screen adaptation starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Lena Horne.
Now, 50 years after its premiere, The Wiz returns to The Great White Way. Writer Amber Ruffin, actresses Nichelle Lewis (Dorothy) and Deborah Cox (Glinda), scenic designer Hannah Beachler, and costume designer Sharen Davis, sat down to discuss their lifelong connections to the musical, the vision it took to remake a classic, and the power of bringing their full selves to creative work.
