The revival of the popular 1975 Broadway production, The Wiz, has attracted new stars to join the cast. R&B veteran Deborah Cox has been announced to play the role of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.
The original production of The Wiz featured Dee Dee Bridgewater, while Lena Horne played the same role in the film adaptation. CeCe Peniston performed the role during a nationwide tour in the ’90s, and Uzo Aduba played it in NBC’s The Wiz Live! in 2015.
“I am so proud to announce that I will [be] back on Broadway in The WIZ,” wrote Cox in an Instagram post. “I will be portraying the role of Glinda. We gon be easin down the road first!! I’m excited we’ll be bringing this show to life for a whole new generation!”
She added, “My first encounter with The Wiz was when I was around 4 or 5. That’s when the movie came out. As a young Black girl from Toronto it was the first movie that I saw with a full black cast in a musical. I remember being wide eyed, in awe. It’s a dream come true to reimagine this role. This role embodies exactly where I am in my life and where I want to be. It’s so beautifully resonates a message that I want to convey to the world.”
In 2001, Cox portrayed The Cowardly Lion at Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration. The two-day concert was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It featured additional appearances from Al Jarreau as the Tin Man, Jill Scott as the Scarecrow and Monica as Dorothy. This section of the show was an ode to Jackson’s role as the Scarecrow in the 1978 film adaption of The Wiz.
Circling back to the forthcoming musical, it has been announced that Melody A. Betts will portray both Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Aunt Em, while Alan Mingo Jr. and Wayne Brady will alternate the role of The Wiz.
Mingo will take on the role during the pre-Broadway tour in the fall, while Brady will take over for the spring 2024 shows.
Previously announced cast members include Avery Wilson (Scarecrow), Phillip Johnson Richardson (Tinman) and Kyle Remar Freeman (Lion). The lead role of Dorothy is still unannounced.
The upcoming revival of The Wiz will be directed by Schele Williams. The show will feature William F. Brown’s screenplay and Charlie Smalls’ music and lyrics. The production is based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a novel written by L. Frank Baum.
The team behind the upcoming production includes Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, Todd Tucker, and Kandi Burruss-Tucker as producers. JaQuel Knight has been chosen to choreograph the show.
The Wiz will start its first Broadway-bound tour in 40 years at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore from Sept. 23 to Sept. 30. It will tour U.S. cities until 2023 and have a short run in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in 2024.
Cox first starred in a Broadway production in 2004 when she filled the title role of Aida, a musical helmed by Elton John and Tim Rice. She returned to Broadway in 2016, taking the roles of Josephine Baker in Josephine and Whitney Houston in a musical version of the hit 1992 movie The Bodyguard.
The news of Cox’s Broadway return comes after she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2022 and received the Entertainer Icon Award at the 2020 Black Music Honors.
That same year she was awarded the latter statuette, she appeared on Rico Love’s album Rico Love Presents: Emerging Women in R&B. A year prior, she dropped the song “Easy Way,” which was written and produced by Love.
Cox has yet to release a proper album of new material since 2008’s The Promise. In 2015, she announced a new album titled Work of Art with the singles “Kinda Miss You” and “More Than I Knew,” but the album was never released.
Instead, Cox released I Will Always Love You, an album featuring songs previously performed by Whitney Houston, which coincided with her role in The Bodyguard musical.
The Wiz 2023-2024 Season Schedule
Sep 23 – Sep 30, 2023 – Baltimore, MD @ Hippodrome Theatre
Oct 3 – Oct 22, 2023 – Cleveland, OH @ Playhouse Square
Oct 24 – Oct 29, 2023 – Washington, D.C. @ National Theatre
Oct 31 – Nov 5, 2023 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Benedum Center
Nov 7 – Nov 12, 2023 – Charlotte, NC @ Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
Nov 14 – Nov 19, 2023 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
Nov 21 – Nov 26, 2023 – Greenville, SC @ The Peace Center
Nov 28 – Dec 10, 2023 – Chicago, IL @ Cadillac Palace Theatre
Dec 12 – Dec 17, 2023 – Des Moines, IA @ Des Moines Civic Center
Jan 2 – Jan 7, 2024 – Tempe, AZ @ ASU Gammage
Jan 9 – Jan 14, 2024 – San Diego, CA @ Civic Theatre
Jan 16 – Feb 11, 2024 – San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Theatre
Feb 13 – Mar 3, 2024 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Pantages Theatre
Tickets for The Wiz can be purchased at wizmusical.com.