One of the best musical numbers of the night was Williams’ performance of “Home”, with the 18 year old New Jersey Native showing an incredible range during the heart-wrenching song. But the buzz wasn’t all good; the show also sparked a racial controversy online. This video was licensed from Grab Networks. The live production – NBC’s third after “The Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan” – pulled in an estimated 11.5 million viewers and the show’s lead actor, Shanice Williams (Dorothy), earned rave reviews from critics.
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The Wiz Live!’s starry cast included Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em, Queen Latifah as the Wiz, Mary J. Blige as Evillene, Ne-Yo as the Tinman, Elijah Kelly as the Scarecrow, David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion, Uzo Aduba as Glinda, Amber Riley as Addaperle, Common as the Gatekeeper and newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy.
NBC/Virginia Sherwood/NBC Queen Latifah as the great and powerful wizard in NBC’s “The Wiz Live!” After its last two live musical efforts were met with mixed-to-negative reviews, “The Wiz Live!” managed to unite viewers in a way that didn’t rely upon snark or general curmudgeonry.
It’s based on the 1975 Tony victor and was far better than last year’s “Peter Pan Live!” when people were ridiculing it live. In 2014, NBC surprised the television industry with an audience of 18.6 million people for a live production of “The Sound of Music” that starred Carrie Underwood.
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NBC will air an encore of the production on Saturday, Dec. 19 from 8-11 p.m. ET.
