(Photo By Flickr User Emily Ruth Brown)
"Why don't ya slide some oil, to the Peacock!"
NBC has announced that its next live musical television event will be The Wiz to air Thursday, December 3, 2015.
According to variety.com and blackamericaweb.com, The Wiz marks NBC’s third live musical production, after The Sound of Music Live! starring Carrie Underwood and Peter Pan Live! in which Brian Williams’ daughter Allison Williams played the title character.
The Wiz will be co-produced by Cirque du Soleil’s new stage theatrical division. After the television event, the musical will make its Broadway revival for the 2016-2017 season, also presented by Cirque du Soleil.
Casting for both projects is yet to be announced.
As with NBC’s previous musical picks, The Wiz not only had Broadway runs (in the mid-70s and again in 1984), but also spawned a big screen adaptation starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson in 1978. It is adapted from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
