Wizzin' On Down The Road

This week, the 30th Anniversary DVD edition of the film version of "The Wiz" was released. In both honor and snub of that, and as people have asked me how different the play is from the movie, I am presenting six videos from YouTube of different productions of the play:



First up is a series of video clips of the recent Dutch revival of "The Wiz." Hey... this isn't an all-black cast! That's kind of cool!

Next up is a song that was done quite differently in the film: Aunt Em's solo "The Feeling We Once Had." This Aunt Em isn't too bad!

Next up is one of my favorites from the set: Dorothy encourages the Cowardly Lion to "Be A Lion."

The next three videos are all songs in the play that were NOT in the film.

- UNLIKE the movie, the Wiz leaves Oz, but not without encouraging the people to be independent in the lively number "Y'all Got It!"

- Glinda's entrance in the film is different, too. Addaperle (the Good Witch of the North, not Miss One, as she is in the movie) introduces Glinda, who sings the soothing number "A Rested Body." (Good, because we need a bit of relaxing before we get into the two closing numbers...)

- And lastly, "You Can't Win" WAS originally in the play, but it wasn't for the Scarecrow to sing. It was going to be a song some Winkies sing to Dorothy telling her how hopeless service to the Wicked Witch of the West is. However, it was cut before the play ever opened. (I guess they decided Micheal Jackson needed a more upbeat albeit whiny anthem...) Here is "I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday," the original and more confident song the Scarecrow sang.