Alan Mingo Jr. to Replace Wayne Brady in the Title Role in The Wiz on Broadway

Alan Mingo Jr. will reprise his title performance in The Wiz, joining the featured Broadway cast at the Marquis Theatre on June 13. He replaces Wayne Brady, who plays his final performance on June 12. Mingo played the role of The Wiz on tour before Brady joined the company at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre and Los Angeles' Hollywood Pantages Theatre and subsequently opened the revival on Broadway in April. 

"I’m thrilled to return to playing The Wiz, a role that I loved playing nightly on the National Tour," said Mingo in a statement. "My mother took me to see this musical when I was a child, and there aren’t many shows you can say that about."

Brady also offered a statement: "The Wiz is more than a Broadway show, it’s a legacy. Growing up, I’ve always loved musicals, but seeing The Wiz was the first time I saw a cast with people who looked like us. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to work on such an exciting revival with this creative team and cast, and I’m grateful to return to the Broadway community.”

Mingo's past Broadway credits include Tom Collins in Rent, Sebastian in The Little Mermaid and Lola in Kinky Boots. He has also been serving as Brady's standby throughout the Broadway run.

An all-Black retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz debuted on Broadway in 1975. The revival, directed by Schele Williams, presents Tony nominee Joseph Joubert's arrangements and orchestrations of Charlie Smalls' original Tony-winning score, with music and vocal arrangements by Allen René Louis. Tony nominee Amber Ruffin lends new material to the original book by William F. Brown. Choreography is by JaQuel Knight.

Featuring such beloved numbers as “Ease On Down the Road,” “Be A Lion,” “Home” and “Brand New Day,” the show stars Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Deborah Cox as Glinda, Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em/Evillene, Kyle Ramar Freeman as the Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as the Tinman and Avery Wilson as the Scarecrow.