‘The Wiz Live!’ Debuts Tonight On NBC, Anticipation Mostly Positive

NBC’s latest live musical event following “Peter Pan” and “The Sound of Music” will be airing tonight at 8 on NBC. Anticipation for the one-time show have mostly been great and like the previous musicals, “The Wiz Live!” is also based on the original stage production.

Along with Cirque Du Soleil trained acrobats, “The Wiz” will feature some veteran stage musical stars and great talents. Heading the cast is 19-year-old Shanice Williams, who is still making her mark in the industry.

“I’ve never experienced any of it. Sometimes I think about my life, and Dorothy — she sees people she’s never seen before, she’s in a place (that) she’s dreamed of. It’s like, it’s the same thing,” said Williams via NJ.Com.

“I told her that this is her Dorothy. I don’t want her to try to live up to what I did. It’s hers. I passed the torch onto her,” advised Stephanie Mills, the actress who played Dorothy in the original stage production back in the 70s, according to E! Online.

The cast will also include stars like Queen Latifah, Amber Riley, Mary J. Blige, Uzo Aduba, Common, David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley, Stephanie Mills, and Ne-Yo.

“When we called our friend Queen Latifah to be in it, she said, ‘When I was a little girl, the first show I saw on Broadway was The Wiz, and when Stephanie Mills sang ‘Home’ I cried, and I decided that night that I wanted to be a performer,'” said producer Craig Zadan via Refinery29.

Watch a preview below: