I am amazed at the reviewer who make the claim and that David Alan Grier as the lion was OK but not sure if he were Broadway material. That is laughable firstly because he was probably the best actor in the whole production of the Wiz live! And gave the necessary histrionics that were needed for this theatrical production. Secondly, he has been in several Broadway plays and musicals as the star and actually was nominated for a Tony for Best Male performance in his very first outing in a Broadway musical playing Jackie Robinson the famed baseball player. I feel that this production of The Wiz was flawed but had much to recommend it. Shanice is an up and coming star and has a wonderful voice. If she were only slightly occasionally off key, it was probably due to nerves. Anyone in their first production and a live televised one at that would probably have a case of the nerves. My main fault with this production is what it has been for the other NBC live productions: the producers should be less concerned with ratings by placing pop stars in the major roles and place more emphasis on the acting by getting solid, proved actors to play the lead roles. Mary J Blige is not an actress. Queen Latifah, although having starred in several films, was totally miscast as the Wiz. I thought the actor who played the scarecrow was quite weak. However Neyo as the tin-man proved to be one of the better actors and singers as well. Overall not bad! Certainly a better production, though not smooth in its execution, then the past two. Maybe they are getting better as they go and the next will far exceed even this one. We can only hope!
Review of The Wiz Live!
