The first tour of the musical “The Wiz” to come to Kentucky Performing Arts will take the stage at Whitney Hall (501 W. Main St.) in July. This direct-from-Broadway production will close the 2024–25 season.
Before the 2024 film adaptation of “Wicked”—which was based on the musical “Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz,” which was adapted from the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire, which itself was based on both the original 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum and its 1939 musical film adaptation—there was “The Wiz.”
First produced on Broadway in 1974, “The Wiz” reimagines Oz in the context of contemporary Black American culture with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and a book by William F. Brown. Four years later, the musical was adapted to film with Diana Ross as Dorothy Gale and a now-legendary cast including Michael Jackson as Scarecrow.
This trailblazing interpretation of the Oz mythos changed the entire landscape of Broadway, from its score informed by gospel, rock, funk, and soul to its poignant depiction of Dorothy’s journey to find her place as a young Black woman in contemporary America.
In this production of “The Wiz,” Dana Cimone makes her national tour debut as Dorothy. Also making their national tour debuts are Sheherazade as Glinda and Kyla Jade as Aunt Em/Evillene, D. Jerome (from “MJ: The Musical” and “Hamilton”) as the Tinman, Cal Mitchell (“The White Rose,” “The Color Purple”) as the Lion, and Elijah Ahmad Lewis (“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” and “Motown The Musical”) as the Scarecrow. Alan Mingo Jr. returns as The Wiz himself, a role he began on the pre-Broadway tour and played on Broadway.
At Kentucky Performing Arts, director Schele Williams (“The Notebook”) will be joined by music director Adam Blackstone (Nicki Minaj, Justin Timberlake), dance music arranger Terence Vaughn, and choreographer JaQuel Knight (Beyoncé), to infuse modern dance with jazz and ballet as Dorothy and her companions ease on down the road.
The design team for this production of “The Wiz” includes scenic design by Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), costume design by Sharen Davis (“Ray,” “Dreamgirls”), wig design by Charles LaPointe (“MJ the Musical”), and make-up design by Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche (“The Piano Lesson”).
The original production of “The Wiz” ran for four years — first at The Majestic Theatre and later at The Broadway Theatre — for 1,672 performances. The Louisville engagement is at Whitney Hall for only eight performances, July 29–August 3. Tickets are available now.
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This article appears in Jun 20 – Jul 3, 2025.