‘The Wiz’ is a whole lot of fun to see

Costa Mesa, CA (News4usonline) – The best way to describe the hit Broadway musical The Wiz is “wow.” The electricity this incredible showcase presents start early and wraps up with an emotional plea that will pull at your heartstrings. 

When you’re watching the musical numbers being performed in The Wiz, you kind of think that you’re in the Land of Oz trying to help Dorothy (Dana Cimone) and her friends navigate through tundra and avoid at all cost a bad witch with a deadly vendetta. 

The journey is treacherous yet magical at the same time. Even if you know the storyline by heart and have gone to the theaters to see the likeness of the original film, The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz brings something special to the table that can’t quite be duplicated. Let’s start with the music. 

My goodness. I almost felt like I was going to a revival for church service in one instance then felt a little of the blues and a touch of R&B when other scenes played themselves out. It felt like I was going through a cultural revelation.  

The combination of spiritual overtures laden with a dash of 70s-esque funkiness thrown into a more modern update of the musical has transformed The Wiz into an exciting blend of cultural upgrades. 

This version of The Wiz takes bits and pieces of Old School nostalgia and unites it with New School direction. All the while remaining authentically Black. 

When The Wiz made its Broadway debut back in 1975, the musical was groundbreaking and changed the game in live theatre enroute to winning seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, with the likes of actor Hinton Battle and the marvelous singing phenom Stephanie Mills (Dorothy). 

More than five decades later, The Wiz still has its grip on audiences as was the case of opening night at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The musical numbers being sung throughout felt like they were in the one upmanship category. 

This is not done with intentional dismissiness, but because every song, every moving part, every dance number is so dang good that the repertoire of perfection comes alive in a wave of Black excellence.

Each scene, each song and each well-choregraphed dance routine blows you away with refined craftsmanship. Every artist on stage had their moments to wow the audience. And they did. Let’s start with Kyla Jade, who doubles as both Aunt Em and Evilene. 

In delivering the showstopping, “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” in the second half of the production, Jade nearly shuts down the musical with her powerful, handclapping, feet-tapping rendition of the song. That’s not even the best part. 

That honor should be bestowed on the way Jade began hitting and beating the tambourine as if she was flipping an order of pancakes. Jade darn near brings in some of that old gospel sound to the song. 

Think Mahalia Jackson. Think a little bit of Aretha with a touch of Yolanda Adams. This is what you get with Jade in her portrayal of Evilene. Heck, I almost got out of my seat to start dancing, but I had to remember this was not the time nor the place for such theatrics. 

If there is a singular starring force in The Wiz, there’s no question that Jade has that thunder.  

But she is not the only performer making strong impressions in The Wiz. Jade, Sheherazade (Glinda) and Cal Mitchell (Lion) are all making their Broadway debut starring in The Wiz. Their individual performances make The Wiz worth going to see. 

When a restrained Glinda belts out “He’s The Wiz” early in Act One with nuanced authority, she does so with one of the most beautiful voices you’d ever want to hear. Unfortunately, we don’t see Glinda again until late in Act Two of the show. 

By this time, Dorothy and her band of castaways that includes Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion, have already eased down the road to see The Wiz and are ready to move on with their own independent pathway of re-establishing who they are.

If Jade is the show-stealer, Sheherazade (Glinda) makes her limited appearances count. When she sings the genuinely authentic “Believe in Yourself,” it has a lot of credence to it. 

The musical’s triple threat comes in the form of Lion (Mitchell), Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis) and Tinman (D. Jerome) as show that they are no slouches in the singing department themselves. 

After going through the first half of the musical being in uptempo mode, Jerome stills the audience with heartfelt believability when he sings “What Would I Do If I Could Feel.” 

Yes, we feel what he feels. With so many speed-it-up-driven songs, Jerome’s lead number of self-reflection gives the cast of The Wiz an opportunity to catch their collective breaths while bringing a sense of sincerity from the robotic wonder. 

In knocking his role as Scarecrow out of the park, Lewis demands our attention with his undeniable stage presence. Then there is The Wiz himself, played with blunt exuberance by Alan Mingo Jr. 

But of course, Dorothy brings it all home in The Wiz with her sweet, innocent candor. 

Dorothy represents the good in all of us. She sees our possibilities. She doesn’t see our shortcomings. By the time Dorothy (Cimone) closes out the show with the searing and climatic “Home,” we have laughed, we have cried a little bit and quietly, we have danced in our seats.    

And we have been amazed by it all. The Wiz makes you feel like you’re already home. 

Cover Photo:  Dana Cimone as Dorothy, Cal Mitchell as The Lion, Elijah Ahmad Lewis as The Scarecrow, and D. Jerome as The Tinman in the North American Tour of THE WIZ. Photo by Jeremy Daniel