Come on and ease on down the road with NBC as the network announced that their next live program will be “The Wiz.” The live television production will take place Thursday, December 3. Previous live events for NBC were “The Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan.”
The will be co-produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Cirque du Soleil and after it will head back to Broadway as a revival for the 2016-17 season.
The show will be directed by Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon on both television and on stage. Broadway staple Harvey Fierstein will contribute new material to the original Broadway book by William F. Brown.
“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,” said NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt. “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.”
Casting for both the NBC telecast and Cirque du Soleil’s Broadway production will be announced at a later date.
The film version of the musical starred Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Lena Horne.
