After a 40-year absence from American stages, the Broadway musical "The Wiz" eased on down University Boulevard to Centennial Hall on Tuesday to open the show's Broadway in Tucson run.
This is not the same show that won seven Tony Awards in 1975 and toured in the late 1970s.
This is "The Wiz" updated for a 21st-century audience, with brilliantly colorful video-projected sets, JaQuel Knight's choreography infused with hip-hop and modern dance, songs rearranged to add more contemporary musical flavor, and Amber Ruffin's updated script that adds contemporary social references and speech patterns that sound more 2020s than 1970s.
And while the singing and acting were pretty terrific, the story didn't suck us in as we had hoped.
From left, the good witches, Sheherazade as Glinda and Amitria Fanae as Addaperle, right, console Dorothy (Dana Cimone), center, soon after Dorothy's house crushes their witches' evil sister in "The Wiz." The show opened at Centennial Hall on Tuesday.
"The Wiz," a reimagining of "The Wizard of Oz" through a Black cultural lens, takes us on Dorothy's journey after a tornado hurls her Aunt Em's house from Kansas to the Land of Oz and right on top of Evamene, the Wicked Witch of the East.
The wicked witch's demise is good news to her sister Addaperle (the very funny and wonderfully voiced Amitria Fanae), who tells Dorothy she did the world a favor.
We meet Addaperle's sister, Glinda the Good Witch from the South (Sheherezade, who was impressive in her bookending impactful songs at the beginning and end of the play) and follow Dorothy (the talented singer-actress Dana Cimone) along the Yellow Brick Road where she meets the Tinman (the wonderfully nuanced voiced and terrific actor D. Jerome), the Lion (Cal Mitchell, who affected a convincingly nervous twitch as the cowardly king of the jungle) and the Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis, who balanced delicious physical comedy with a wonderful voice).
We learn that the Lion is cowardly because Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West (Kyla Jade playing nice as Auntie Em and mean girl as the wicked witch) has taken his courage. Evillene also took the Tin Man's heart and the Scarecrow's brain. Dorothy is convinced that The Wiz (Alan Mingo Jr., who played the role during the show's 2024 Broadway run) can lead her home and make all of her new friends whole.
Here's where the Schele Williams-directed musical could use a little more heart in its soul.
The Lion (Cal Mitchell) puts on a brave face when he first encounters, from left center, the Tinman (D. Jerome), Dorothy (Dana Cimone) and the Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis) in an early scene from "The Wiz," playing at Centennial Hall through Sunday.
Williams never gave us the sense of urgency or compassion to get Dorothy home to Kansas. Williams instead put the emphasis on Dorothy's efforts to help her new friends realize that through their friendships and the sense of community it created, they have a heart, a brain and courage.
The video-projected sets were also overwhelming at times, with lots of brilliant color and eye candy that distracted from the story. Sometimes you didn't know where to focus your attention, on Evillene atop her cage as Dorothy splashes her with water (the famous "I'm melting, I'm melting" scene) or on the swirly mystical magical symbols projected behind her.
But truth be told, the play's true joy comes from hearing the talented vocal cast on stage perform those great songs — ""Ease On Down the Road," "Soon As I Get Home," "What Would I Do If I could Feel," "Believe In Yourself," "End of the Yellow Brick Road." At times, we were sure someone in the audience nearly filling Centennial Hall on Tuesday was going to start singing along.
"The Wiz" continues through Sunday at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. on the University of Arizona campus. For tickets and showtimes, visit broadwayintucson.com.
