The Wiz review

Joy courses through the opening seconds of this revival of the Wizard of Oz-inspired musical. The overture begins with one of the score’s signature motifs: the five-note vamp that will later start Ease on Down the Road, this show’s version of Follow the Yellow Brick Road. Those five notes hold the power to transport the listener both to this alternate version of Oz and to the first time you heard those notes: on the original Broadway cast recording, in the 1978 film or on stage in any number of amateur and regional productions. 

Now, they’re playing on Broadway for the first time since its original production in an energetic, charming new staging from director Schele Williams. Cheers erupt. Charlie Smalls’ score is packed with infectious grooves and the cast delivers some fine singing. JaQuel Knight’s choreography physicalises the music and the show ascends when the full ensemble is in motion.

The show is a retelling of L Frank Baum’s story through the lens of Black America. In Williams’ production, when Dorothy lands in Oz, it’s Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Hannah Beachler’s scenic design mixes fantasy with realism to create an imaginary land that is full of visual winks mingled with surprising beauty; while Sharen Davis’ costumes explode with vibrancy and colour. Deborah Cox as Glinda the Good Witch is festooned with so many reflective surfaces, that the light hits her as if she were a human disco ball. Melody A Betts, as Evilene, Glinda’s wicked counterpart, wears a gown that is as devilish as it is devilishly gorgeous.

Amber Ruffin has revised the original book by William F Brown with contemporary humour, and the new jokes land so well that they often feel improvised – a real comic feat. Conversely, some of the original dialogue feels turgid, especially next to the exuberance of the musical numbers and Ruffin’s punchy additions; and a few scenes lean towards children’s-theatre declamation. 

With a cast full of such talent, it is a shame that Jon Weston’s sound design often loses their vocals under the swell of the orchestra. And Daniel Brodie’s large-scale backdrop projections look cartoony behind Beachler’s thoughtful design. 

In her Broadway debut, Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy closes the show with a moving rendition of Home, holding the audience close as she clicks her heels and leaves Oz. This revival, even with its flaws, takes us all somewhere special.