Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of The Wiz Live!
Source: NBC
The Wiz Live!, NBC’s third and by far most popular live musical event (especially with Twitter) since 2013 took audiences by storm last year. Not that the cast, featuring newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy, David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, Queen Latifah, Common, Mary J. Blige, Uzo Aduba and Stephanie Mills, to name a few, had any real pressure – what with the beloved Broadway musical and 1978 film starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Lena Horne to boot. But they did an amazing job bringing the beloved musical to audiences – new and old alike. Want to know how they pulled it off? Here are some secrets behind the making of The Wiz Live!
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Costume Change
After the opening scene where they played farmhands, David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley and Ne-Yo had less than 20 minutes to change into their respective outfits as the Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man. Sound like a lot of time? Keep in mind that in dress rehearsals, it could take them up to three hours to suit up.
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Sound Stage
The Wiz Live! took place on a sound stage at Grumman Studios in Bethpage, Long Island. There were 18 musical numbers in total.
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Tin Man’s Dab
Choreographer extraordinaire Fatima Robinson was listening to hip-hop and messing around with her dance crew during rehearsals when director Kenny Leon strolled in. Robinson jokingly started dabbing, and asked Leon what he knew about the dance. They had so much fun playing around that Robinson knew she had to find a way to incorporate the dab into the choreography.
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Other Dances
In addition to the dab, Robinson incorporated the Quan and the nae nae into the choreography.
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The Music
In modernizing the music, Harvey Mason Jr. wanted to remain authentic and timeless. He added contemporary drum machines, synthesizers and other sounds and “different rhythmic approaches” to make the music sound akin to popular music today.
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One Stage
It might have looked like there were several stages involved, but only one stage was used to perform The Wiz Live!, unlike NBC’s previous musicals Peter Pan, which used three stages, and The Sound of Music, which used five. Scenery was rear projected on LED screens to pull off the Kansas wheat fields in the opening scene, for example.
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Tin Man’s Costume
Ne-Yo’s Tin Man costume trapped in his body heat, so tubes filled with water were sewn into it so that he could keep his body cool while performing.
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Assistants
Each major character in the musical had two assistants to help them off-screen with their costume transformations.
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Glinda’s Gown
Adding to her magical lore, Glinda the Good Witch’s gown was equipped with fiber optics and LED lighting.
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U.N.I.T.Y.
Leon made sure there was unity on set, and not just because Queen Latifah was a part of the cast. If any of the performers were a minute or even 30 seconds late for rehearsals, Leon made everyone do push-ups.
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Image: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com
The Wiz
Who said the Wiz can’t be played by a woman? When thinking of who would best fit the role, Leon only had one person in mind: Queen Latifah.
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