Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige Join NBC’s Live Musical of ‘The Wiz’

Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige have joined NBC’s The Wiz, the network’s latest live musical adaptation, as The Wiz and the Wicked Witch of the West, respectively.

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who also produced NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! (2013) and Peter Pan Live! (2014), are back to produce The Wiz Live! under the direction of Kenny Leon and will incorporate Cirque Du Soleil acrobats for the first time in any of the live musicals on the network.

Latifah is no stranger to musicals having played big roles in “Chicago” and “Hairspray.” As The Wiz, Latifah will play “the mysterious and powerful wizard who holds the keys to the Emerald City, but whose metamorphosis from ordinary to extraordinary is itself a hoax. She rose to her lofty position after being transported by accident to Oz in a hot air balloon during a snowstorm.”

As for Blige playing the Wicked Witch of the West aka Evillene, she “holds sway over the Winkies and the Winged Monkeys that do her bidding. She captures Dorothy and her friends to avenge the unintentional murder of her evil sister, Evvamean, and to get back the powerful silver slippers given to Dorothy by the Good Witch of the North.”

Stephanie Mills has been cast as Auntie Em and the iconic role of Dorothy, played by Diana Ross in the 1978 film, has yet to be filled. And to think I was singing the other day “You’ve got to be seen in green, to show that you’re stuff’s layed. If you’re not seen green, you better be wearing jade.” I can’t wait for this! The Wiz Live! premieres Thursday, December 3 on NBC.

What do you think about the new additions to The Wiz Live! cast? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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