Review Highlights - THE WIZ - National Tour/ASU Gammage

Kyle Ramar Freeman, Nichelle Lewis,Phillip Johnson Richardson, and Avery Wilson
Photo by Jeremy Daniel

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through January 7

"In celebration of its upcoming fiftieth anniversary, the hit 1974 musical The Wiz is currently on a pre-Broadway tour before opening in New York this spring. It will be the first Broadway revival this musical has received. While The Wiz may not be a great musical, mainly due to its slack book and hit and miss score, it does feature many catchy tunes and this revival makes some slight revisions that focus and infuse the narrative with new life. The production's boisterous journey to Oz, complete with explosive choreography that vibrantly blends contemporary dance styles with Motown beats, and a standout cast promises an entertaining experience for audiences as the touring production eases on down the road across the country to Broadway...."  - Gil Benbrook, TalkinBroadway.com (click here to read the complete review)

 " non-stop colorful feast for the eyes...The arrangements and the vocal delivery of most of the original score are powerhouse versions of what you might have remembered, while JaQuel Knight’s exhaustive, athletic choreography makes practically every previous production of THE WIZ look pedestrian by comparison...With an energy and an emotional strength that made Home an R&B number one for Stephanie Mills, newcomer Nichelle Lewis grabs the song with both hands, clutching it with the same strength and power of the tornado that began the show, and makes it her own, bringing the house down at the song’s conclusion in the process.. In this new production for a new century, that sense of theatrical joy is still there, and it has everything to do with Nichelle Lewis. -  David Appleford, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)