"The Wiz" is a soulful and funky adaptation of the classic musical "The Wizard of Oz." It is based off of the book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum.
"The Wiz" was introduced on Broadway in 1975 and won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score, and others. Stephanie Mills, played the part of Dorothy in the Broadway production. Many believe that this musical spoke to the African-American community during the time.
In 1978, "The Wiz" was made into a movie starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. There was much heated debate on whether the aged Diana Ross should be cast in replacement of the young and experienced actress Stephanie Mills. Ross put her foot down though and demanded to be cast.
Fast forward to 2009 and many producers took the step to make the revival of "The Wiz" (above). Ashanti, an R&B recording artist, starred in this new and improved version at "Encore! Summer Stars." Many theater buffs criticized Ashanti for her first big acting role. They thought her singing was fairly good, but her acting was atrocious. Although this revival only ran for a short time, it was still another wonderful adaptation of the classic "Wizard of Oz."
Hey MK! Have you heard the new recording of The Wiz?
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to know if you had a personal opinion on Ashanti and her singing. I know she's not as good as you, but could you perhaps give her some advice on how she could improve?
Your faithful follower, ;)
~Adri~
So looking back i remember you saying Ashanti was criticized for her performance during The Wiz. I just wanted to let you know that you did really well at the role of Dorothy...and probably did better than Ashanti because you rock.
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