Watch out, Wicked: Another Wizard of Oz spin-off is headed to Detroit.
The Wiz, a reimagining of the L. Frank Baum classic The Wizard of Oz with an all-Black cast, is headed to Detroit as part of its first Broadway tour in 40 years.
The production is set for June 17-29 at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre.
Tickets start at $40 and go on sale starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30 at broadwayindetroit.com and in-person at the Fisher Theatre box office at noon.
The Tony Award-winning musical first debuted in 1974 in Baltimore as The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical ‘Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ before moving to Broadway in 1975.
Fun fact: The Wiz had a pre-Broadway tryout at the Fisher Theatre in November 1974, where it was reportedly enthusiastically received. At the Detroit tryout, producer Ken Harper replaced the original director, Gilbert Moses, with costume designer Geoffrey Holder. According to actor André De Shields, who played the Wiz, “It was Geoffrey’s masterful people skills and embrace of magical realism that metamorphosed The Wiz from caterpillar to butterfly.” The 1978 film adaptation starred Diana Ross and featured Quincy Jones’s first collaboration with Michael Jackson.
The new production features choreography from JaQuel Knight (who also choreographed Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and “Formation,” as well as her famous Coachella headlining set).
More information is available at wizmusical.com and broadwayindetroit.com.
