The actress “live tweeted” during The Wiz: Live’s airing, and everything she wrote was worth reading, because it was outright hilarious. But the only ones who may have messed up with “The Wiz Live!” – were those who didn’t watch.
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The hyper-color musical offered many sensational moments during the broadcast.
With delayed and on-demand viewing becoming more the norm in TV households across the country, NBC’s “The Wiz” showed that live TV can still bring in a big audience.
In a sharp contrast to the insults that filled social media during NBC’s last two live musicals – Peter Pan and the Sound of Music – love for The Wiz Live! exploded online as the show progressed.
NBC’s casting of Williams to play Dorothy in The Wiz Live was a brilliant move. If the NBC production proved anything, it’s that the show is a gorgeous, vibrant musical that’s been sorely neglected in the U.S.in recent years. Oh my! The Wiz Live!’s story may start off with a rough storm, but Thursday night’s show on NBC was the opposite of that.
Revealed last month, newcomer Shanice Williams was cast as Dorothy, beating out lots of competition – potentially the break of a lifetime for the actress/singer.
Viewers may have tuned in for “Wiz” and then been impressed, hanging around to see favorite artists like Ne-Yo and Riley of “Glee” performing tunes.
Excluding sports, this is NBC’s highest-rated Thursday in the local people meters since April 2, 2009 (4.7 for the night of the “ER” finale).
“We’re in another watershed in which there are dozens of black people, who also feel free, creating television and appearing on it. That’s the version of “The Wiz” that NBC aired on Thursday – a balmy celebration of what should be the natural order of things: black America, unoppressed”.
Only in a weak Broadway field could The Wiz have won seven Tony awards, as it did in 1975. In support, she had pros such as David Alan Grier (Cowardly Lion), Ne-Yo (Tin Man) and Elijah Kelley (Scarecrow). “I think what they learned between “Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan” is they have to be very careful with the title they select”.
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NBC even brought back Stephanie Mills, who was Dorothy in the original Broadway production of The Wiz. Emmy-winner Uzo Aduba made viewers forget her turn as Crazy Eyes in Orange is the New Black with a powerhouse performance as Good Witch Glinda, belting out the signature tune “Believe in Yourself”.
