A Broadway Musical the black-themed musical itself. "The Wiz" proved to be Brown's only success. Following a dismal October–November tryout with Helen Gallagher and Julius LaRosa at the theatre in the Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, the producers fired most of the cast and creative personnel, including director/choreographer George Faison. Gower Champion was called in to rescue the Broadway-bound production with only a month to go, but he feared that the show's defects were too serious to remedy and insisted on receiving a "Production supervised by" credit only. After 14 previews, the Broadway production opened and closed the same night at the Lunt-Fontanne
Brooks Ashmanskas Brooks Ashmanskas Brooks Ashmanskas (born June 14, 1969) is an American stage actor. He has appeared both on Broadway and Off-Broadway as well as in regional theatres. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for playing various characters in "Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me". In 2016, he was featured in "Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed". Ashmanskas is originally from Salem, Oregon, and graduated from Bennington College. Ashmanskas was in