Entertainment

NBC Nominees were announced Monday for the 21st annual Critics’ Choice Awards by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Broadcast Television Journalists Association. NBC’s ratings hit The Wiz Live! garnered five nominations. T.J. Miller will host the awards gala, which will broadcast live on A&E, Lifetime and LMN from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica […]

Entertainment

NBC via Getty Images   The third time’s the charm for NBC. An exuberant, inventive “The Wiz Live!” on Thursday night breathed new life into the notion of full-scale musicals on live TV with a happy serving of 70s soul and R&B, updated with a 2015 vibe. Starring a nice mix of pop music heavyweights, Hollywood […]

Entertainment

Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige spoke to the magic of “The Wiz Live!,” airing December 3rd  8/7c on NBC, when I asked them about its longevity. What’s so special about “The Wiz” and what was your first introduction to it? QUEEN LATIFAH: It was the first Broadway play that I ever saw. My mom […]

Entertainment

  he Wiz Live! airs on NBC on Thursday with a star-studded lineup certain to have you ready to take a trip down the yellow brick road. The Broadway musical-turned-movie-turned-live TV musical features a newcomer as Dorothy (Shanice Williams), a Wiz vet as Aunt Em (Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the 1975 Broadway musical) […]

Entertainment

The airing of “The Wiz Live!” Thursday, December 3rd 8/7c on NBC is truly a momentous occasion considering the fact that when the Broadway musical “The Wiz” was scheduled for a Broadway run, naysayers said it would be a flop. Not only was it a big success with Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, but it spawned […]

Entertainment

Soon, a determined girl named Dorothy will ease on down that road in NBC’s “The Wiz Live!” Hers is an odyssey that began in 1900 with the publication of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” then continued with the classic 1939 movie musical starring Judy Garland, followed by the 1975 Broadway production of […]

Entertainment

*Right after Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor and other legends finished filming the theatrical version of the Broadway phenomenon The Wiz, released in 1978, Motown Records sent Ross back to the studio to record an album of all of the musical’s songs — including those sung by her cast mates. The album was to […]

Entertainment

The Wiz Live! Family friendly program, The Wiz Live! is coming to television Dec. 3 and NBC has released the very first promo. Starring David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion, Shanice Williams as Dorothy, Queen Latfiah as The Wiz, Ne-Yo as the Tin Man and Elijah Kelley as the Scarecrow, the teaser gets you ready […]

Entertainment

Uzo Aduba from “Orange Is the New Black” andAmber Riley from “Glee” have joined the cast of NBC’s Dec. 3 live production of “The Wiz Live!” as witches. Aduba, best known for her role as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on the Netflix series set in a prison, will play Glinda, the Good Witch of the […]

National

On Wednesday morning, TODAY revealed the latest addition to the already star-studded cast — Shanice Williams. If her name doesn’t quite ring a bell, that’s because “The Wiz” will be Williams’ first television role. The musical theater actress was among hundreds of applicants who auditioned for the part.   Peter Kramer / NBC Of course, long before […]

Entertainment

Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige are leading NBC’s reboot of The Wiz. According to Entertainment Weekly, Latifah is set to play the title character Wiz, and Blige will play The Wicked Witch. So far no word on who will be playing the lead role of Dorothy but we are hoping for Zendaya Coleman or […]