The Wiz, Cirque Du Soleil to Feature in NBC’s Next Live Musical
After “The Sound of Music” in 2013 and “Peter Pan” in 2014, NBC is set to bring the Broadway musical “The Wiz” on live television this year. The show is set for telecast on Dec. 3, 2015 as announced by NBC entertainment.
Executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and directed by Kenny Leon, the live musical will also feature the performing group Cirque Du Soleil. “The Wiz” will actually be revived on Broadway with the famed group and the same production in 2016.
“We love this yearly tradition and we’re more excited than ever to not only bring another Broadway musical to America’s living rooms, but also see it land on Broadway as well. It’s a natural next step for our live musical events and we’re so pleased to be in business with this award-winning creative team and Scott Zeiger, President and Managing Director of Cirque du Soleil’s new theatrical division. Cirque’s incredible imagination will help bring the fantasy world of Oz vividly to life and give this great show a modern spin on the age-old story we all love,” said Bob Greenblatt, NBC’s chairman, in a statement published in various news outlets.
Casting for the television special and the Broadway production will soon be underway.
Based on the book by William F. Brown and retold by L. Frank Baum for the contemporary audience, “The Wiz” originally ran on stage in 1974 and has won seven Tony Awards.
The musical om NBC has the following synopsis:
“Dorothy, a young woman from Kansas, is swept up in a tornado and relocated to a fantasy world that is inhabited by munchkins, good and bad witches, and, of course, flying monkeys. She eventually takes a path down a yellow brick road to find a wizard who can help her go home and along the way meets a scarecrow, tin man and cowardly lion, who all learn to help one another.”
Catch the live presentation of “The Wiz” on Dec. 3, 2015 on NBC.
