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Boston Globe

He's ‘The Wiz' and he lives … in Boston

This production is part of the show's national tour, with direction by Schele Williams, an updated book by Amber Ruffin, and choreography by JaQuel Knight. Charlie Smalls's timeless score features two of the greatest 11 o'clock numbers in the history of Broadway, 'Believe in Yourself' and 'Home.' I spoke to Williams and Ruffin about what's new in this revival, and why the show resonates with audiences. Don't worry, nobody's bringing ' Boston Globe: 'The Wiz' was the first musical I ever saw on Broadway. Nearly 50 years later, I saw your excellent production, which made me feel like that 6-year-old kid again. What was your introduction to the material? Advertisement Amber Ruffin: I didn't see the original Broadway production, so I'd say the movie. Schele Williams: I saw a production in Dayton, Ohio. I also played Dorothy in a production of 'The Wiz' my senior year of high school. So, this show has had an impact on my life three times. Sheherazade as Glinda and Dana Cimone as Dorothy in the North American tour of "The Wiz." Jeremy Daniel BG: Adapting 'The Wiz' had to be a daunting task. The material is so beloved, especially by Black folks. What was your approach to updating the material? Advertisement SW: To revive [a musical] means to give it new life. What I wanted to do, more than anything, was to honor the original Broadway and movie versions of 'The Wiz,' the original 'Wizard of Oz' film, and the L. Frank Baum books. So that whatever your entry point into this story was, you knew that we valued it, and that you were welcome in this space. BG: There was a lot of '70s slang in the original Broadway show book, if I recall correctly. AR: Certainly. I went through and took that slang out. I only left in slang that I thought would be timeless. Because our goal was to make a 'Wiz' that you could do today or 30 years from now. You know that you can't satisfy everyone. But you can provide an excellent time that is extremely honest. BG: Let's talk a bit about casting. How insane was it to cast this musical? I'm sure everyone was coming out of the woodwork to audition. SW: Anytime you can sit in a room and hear that glorious score over and over, you feel like the luckiest person in the world. Charlie Smalls wrote some of the most dynamite songs ever sung on the American stage. It was really incredible to see a new generation of artists embracing this material with their whole hearts. I've had to fully cast this show twice, and it has been exciting because this new tour has incredible talent. They bring their own flavor to it, which is so beautiful. Advertisement Kyla Jade as Evillene in the North American tour of "the Wiz." Jeremy Daniel AR: Those people sang the butts off of those songs! I had never heard the center of every note of a song before in my life. They were doing it live, day in and day out, and it really humbled me. When Evillene [the Wicked Witch] was singing 'No Bad News' in rehearsals, and she pulled out the tambourine, we just melted. BG: That was improvised? AR: Yeah, and we all said, 'That's going in the show!' BG: 'No Bad News' is one of my favorite songs, because it's so churchy. Well, the original musical made it kind of churchy, then Quincy Jones amped it up for the movie. But your production — hell, I was ready to go back to church! AR: Yup. It was so good it made me believe in the Lord! BG: Me too — for about five minutes. Just kidding, Jesus! AR: [laughs] I died when she pulled out that tambourine. BG: Speaking of songs, there were some additions to the score as well as a minor rearrangement of the order of songs. Now 'Be a Lion' closes the first act, as opposed to the Tin Man's 'What Would I Do If I Could Feel' and The Wiz's big number is now in Act 2. SW: Thankfully, I had the blessing of the [Smalls] estate to really reimagine this. In my storyboards, I thought: What do we want to leave the audience with at the end of Act One? And I felt like once the show gets to 'Be a Lion,' and [the characters] are all pushing themselves to be as brave as they can be to meet this Wiz, I wanted to end there with this hope. And I wanted to have the anticipation of starting the second act with meeting The Wiz. Advertisement AR: 'Be a Lion' was so good, we didn't want anything to follow it before intermission. We did have one big change because we got the rights to 'You Can't Win' [a song originally cut from the musical that was in the movie]. We also added 'Wonder Wonder Why' as a song for Dorothy. D. Jerome as The Tinman in the North American tour of "The Wiz." Jeremy Daniel BG: I played The Tin Man in a community production of 'The Wiz,' and Schele played Dorothy. If you were in 'The Wiz,' Amber, who would you play? AR: I'd play Addaperle. BG: Would you put numbers in your wig like in the movie, where she's Munchkinland's numbers runner? AR: Maybe. But I'd drag the show down. BG: I just remembered that, in the original Broadway musical, Addaperle was AR: I would like to see a full list of every Black person who is famous now, and has been in any production of 'The Wiz,' and what part they played. I'm not kidding when I say it's at least 15 percent of everyone we know to be famous. BG: Putting you on the spot: Favorite song from 'The Wiz' SW: I'd say 'Home.' AR: 'No Bad News' and 'Be a Lion.' BG: I also vote for 'No Bad News' and 'Be a Lion.' To close out, why do you think 'The Wiz' resonates so much with us? Why does it speak so powerfully to folks across generations? SW: The original story is all about a journey, right? And the journey has danger, it has complications, but it also has incredible hope. And 'The Wiz,' specifically under Amber's rewrite, is joyful. It is a good time. And as you meet these quirky characters, you fall in love with them for who they are. I think it just continues to speak to our humanity. We want to be fully embraced for who we are, and we want to find our tribe. The people who push us to be our very best, who are constantly believing in us when we don't believe in ourselves. Advertisement At the end of the day, the story is about hope. It's filled with joy. It pushes us to be brave. And I think we see ourselves in Dorothy. In 'Home,' she says this is what I've discovered and what I've learned. And we all go through that many times in life. That's what makes 'The Wiz' so resonant. Interviews with Ruffin and Williams were edited and condensed. THE WIZ Aug. 12-24 at Citizens Opera House. Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.