Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86672 posts
Fri May-29-15 08:53 AM
2. "EW had a bunch of good choices." In response to Reply # 0 Fri May-29-15 08:58 AM by Frank Longo
Patina Miller for Addaperle, Audra Macdonald for Glinda, and Crazy Eyes from OITNB for Evillene.
They've already got Stephanie Mills in to play Aunt Em, and they're going to go relative unknown (read: Broadway trained) for Dorothy.
I'm betting they go Jamie or someone of similar name value for The Wiz. Jamie would probably say yes, so that's a safe pick.
They should stick to Broadway trained folks, for the most part, if they want it to be good-- but ones people may know from TV. Ole boy from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt would probably kill as The Lion, for example.
i can't really argue any of those picks. i might would try someone other than yonce, but only because i personally think she's super exposed already and it'd be nice to see someone else.
12. "They're not going to cast a thin man as the Lion." In response to Reply # 5
They're going to cast someone big so that they have to do minimal padding, especially given they have to pull the performance off live under TV studio lights
11. "we already did this post. They are casting an unknown for Dorothy." In response to Reply # 0 Fri May-29-15 01:03 PM by b.Touch
I love Janelle Monae, but she's established herself as too mature a performer to then double back and play a child (she doesn't visibly look too old, but comes off very much mature and sophisticated).
Chris Brown isn't going to happen.
There's Broadway performers more qualified to play the Lion - Tituss Burgess and James Monroe Iglehart
No problem w/ Usher
Beyonce is probably too expensive to play Glenda
Can Monique sing?
Kevin Hart absolutely can't sing, so he's out. It's also not a part for someone that short.
13. "Ported over from the other post and modified:" In response to Reply # 0
Dorothy: Keke Palmer/ secondary: Zendaya (this is going to be an unknown) Uncle Henry: up for grabs (no singing req.) Aunt Em: Phylicia Rashad (already cast w/ Stephanie Mills)
The Scarecrow: Jussie Smollett (sorry, Chris. Not in 2015.) The Tin Man: Usher The Cowardly Lion: Tituss Burgess or James Monroe Igleheart
Addapearl, The Good Witch of the North: Janelle Monae Evilene, The Wicked Witch of the West: Tichina Arnold The Wiz: Don Cheadle (or Wayne Brady - who is a better choice - or Jamie Foxx) Glinda, the Good Witch of the South: Stephanie Mills* (obv needs to be recast unless Mills plays both parts)
*though, unfortunately, Zadan and Meron might be inclined to cast Diana Ross as Glinda.
Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86672 posts
Fri May-29-15 02:14 PM
18. "I like your list, as these people have actual stage-trained voices." In response to Reply # 13
I looked at some of the "cast the Wiz!" pieces online, and they're fucking laughable.
I'm rooting for the dude you named who was the Genie in B'Way's Aladdin to be the Lion (too lazy to click back to remember his actual name). He'd be so beastly.
19. "RE: Ported over from the other post and modified:" In response to Reply # 13
>Evilene, The Wicked Witch of the West: Tichina Arnold
that's actually perfect. like absolutely perfect.
i disagree about kevin hart though if they give a nod to the movie version and lean the wiz towards more comedy than singing it could work. i know how you feel about the movie though so need to expound
21. "They're not leaning that far towards the movie version; after the live s..." In response to Reply # 19 Fri May-29-15 02:50 PM by b.Touch
they're packaging this up and putting it back on the Broadway stage for 2016.
They're also hiring Cirque De Soliel to co-produce, who have already acknowledged they're hard at work on the Tornado and Flying Monkey dance sequences, neither of which are in the movie. I don't even know yet if they're using "You Can't Win" or "I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday" as the Scarecrow's song.
Therefore, we should expect that they'll need a Wiz who can (a) sing his three solo numbers, (b) dance, and (c) be at least to some degree able to be made up to be physically imposing. The actor doesn't have to be a _perfect_ singer, but Kevin Hart hardly qualifies. He'd never do it (not ever, lol), but Eddie Murphy would be great.
That's why I said Foxx or Wayne Brady. Brady will give you everything you want in the part (and is more likely to sign on), Foxx is the bigger name.
27. "technically, since NBC owns the movie, they could integrate" In response to Reply # 25
whatever they wanted from it.
They'd just have to credit Joel Schumacher for his work as screenwriter, which they're not doing. That they're using a young Dorothy is indication enough that there won't be much from the movie.
In my personal opinion, the only thing they should take is the Emerald City Sequence, cut far down and blended with the sequence already in the show (where the foursome has to wear the green glasses inside the City, a plot element borrowed from the book and never used in the 1939 MGM movie).
I wouldn't mind "You Can't Win" put back in its original place a a song for the Winkies in Evilene's lair, but the Scarecrow in the show is a different character than the neurotic version MJ played and the song doesn't quite fit him as an intro song.
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