Ease on down the road... The Wiz on Broadway turns 45!

45 years ago, on this day in Oz history, January 5, 1975 - The Wiz opens on Broadway at the Majestic Theater on 44th Street and goes on to win seven Tony Awards including “Best Musical“. The cast includes: Dorothy, played by 17-year-old Stephanie Mills, Hinton Battle as the Scarecrow, Tiger Haynes as the Tinman, Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion, Andre de Shields as the Wizard, Mabel King as Evillene, Clarice Taylor as Addaperle and Dee Dee Bridgewater as Glinda. Butterfly McQueen (Prissy in Gone With the Wind, 1939) was originally cast to play the Queen of the Field Mice until her scene was cut from the musical.

The production was directed by Geoffrey Holder with a story adapted by William Brown. Music and lyrics are by Charlie Smalls, except for "Tornado" by Timothy Graphenreed and "Everybody Rejoice" by Luther Vandross.

Several elements are faithful to L. Frank Baum’s original story. Dorothy's shoes are silver, the characters get lost in the land of the Kalidahs, the Cowardly Lion is rescued from the poppy field by the Mice Squad and The Wizard became the ruler by giving everyone in the city green sunglasses.
The Wiz was a breakthrough for Broadway, a large-scale big-budget musical featuring an all-black cast. It laid the foundation for later African-American hits such as Bubbling Brown Sugar, Dreamgirls and Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies.