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 Live! The Wiz Live! The Wiz Live! is a television special that aired live on NBC on December 3, 2015. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, it is a performance of a new adaptation of the 1975 Broadway musical "The Wiz", a soul/R&B reinterpretation of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The broadcast is performed live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. This adaptation of the musical combines aspects of both the Broadway play and its 1978 film adaptation. Pit voices were provided by Broadway Inspirational Voices. Source: Broadway World All numbers composed by Charlie Smalls save