Ep. 69: The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical by Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown

Of Slippers and Spindles - Fairy Tale Retellings and Adaptations in Books, Film, and Theatre

"Come on and ease on down, ease on down the road..."
For our second week in The Wizard of Oz Month, we're discussing the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. In addition to reading the show's script, we watched the 1979 film adaptation starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson as well as the 2015 production of The Wiz Live! starring Shanice Williams, Queen Latifah, David Alan Grier, and more. This cultural sensation's plot is remarkably faithful to L. Frank Baum's original Oz book, but there are plenty of moments of adaptation to talk about along the way. Within these three formats - the script, the movie, and the TV adaptation - we find plenty of variation! We discuss Dorothy's different relationships with Aunt Em, Diana Ross's strange arrival in Munchkinland, the Scarecrow's songs, the Kalidah and Poppy battles, the owl therapist, Queen Latifah as a female Wiz, the lessons Dorothy learns along the way, and much more!
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Music: Through The Woods by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com