The Wiz old for the part. However, she contacted Rob Cohen of Universal Pictures, who offered to have them finance the film if she were to play Dorothy, at which point he acquiesced. The resulting film version of "The Wiz" also starred former Motown star Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man, Richard Pryor as the Wizard, jazz singer Thelma Carpenter as Miss One (the name "Addapearle" was not used for this production) and Lena Horne as Glinda. Ted Ross and Mabel King reprised their roles of the Lion and Evillene from the Broadway production. Sidney Lumet served
The Wiz NBC – "The Sound of Music Live!" (2013) and "Peter Pan Live!" (2014), Zadan and Meron announced "The Wiz Live!" as their next production (NBC, by this point, having purchased Universal Studios). NBC's live performance of the stage show aired on December 3, 2015. Stephanie Mills, who originated the role of Dorothy on Broadway, played Aunt Em. An open casting call for the role of Dorothy took place on June 6, 2015. In July 2015, Queen Latifah was cast as the Wiz and Mary J. Blige was confirmed to play the role of Evillene. In addition, Beyoncé was offered to