The Wiz

The Wiz is a 1975 Broadway musical, an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The play features music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and a book by William F. Brown and originally featured an African American cast. The Broadway musical opened in January 1975 with Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, Hinton Battle as Scarecrow, Tiger Haynes as Tin Man, Ted Ross as Lion, Dee Dee Bridgewater as Glinda the Good Witch, Andre DeShields as the Wiz and Mabel King as Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West. The production was directed by Geoffrey Holder.