Wayne Brady to Leave The Wiz, Alan Mingo Jr. Takes Over

Wayne Brady will leave the Broadway revival of The Wiz on Wednesday, June 12. He will be replaced by Alan Mingo Jr., who will play his first official performance on Thursday, June 13.

Mingo played the Wiz throughout most of this production’s pre-Broadway tour. Brady joined the cast for California stops and opened the show in New York at the Marquis Theatre.

The cast also features Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Deborah Cox as Glinda, Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em and Evillene, Kyle Ramar Freeman as Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as Tinman, and Avery Wilson as Scarecrow. The ensemble includes Lauryn Adams, Maya Bowles, Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Jay Copeland, Allyson Kaye Daniel, Judith Franklin, Michael Samarie George, Collin Heyward, Amber Jackson, Olivia Jackson, Christina Jones, Polanco Jones, Kolby Kindle, Mariah Lyttle, Kareem Marsh, Alan Mingo, Jr., Anthony Murphy, Dustin Praylow, Cristina Rae, Matthew Sims Jr, Avilon Trust Tate, Keenan D. Washington, and Timothy Wilson.

The Wiz is a twist on The Wizard of Oz featuring a book by William F. Brown and a Tony Award-winning score by Charlie Smalls (and others), direction by Schele Williams, choreography by JaQuel Knight, and additional material by Tony-nominated and Emmy-nominated writer and TV host Amber Ruffin. The show also features music supervision, orchestrations, and music arrangements by Joseph Joubert, vocal and music arrangements by Allen René Louis, dance music arrangements by Adam Blackstone and Terence Vaughn, and music direction by Paul Byssainthe Jr.

The design team includes scenic designer Hannah Beachler, costume designer Sharen Davis, lighting designer Ryan J. O’Gara, sound designer Jon Weston, video and projection designer Daniel Brodie, wig designer Charles LaPointe, and make-up designer Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche.