– By Cate Marquis –
Dazzling dancing makes “The Wiz” well worth a trip out in the cold to the Fabulous Fox Theater. Yes, the 1975 Tony Award-winning musical based on ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” but re-imagined in contemporary African American culture with an all Black cast, is back, and even better. This revival of the Broadway hit has some updates and refreshes, there is an extra dose of humor and fun as well, but it is still that charming adventure easing on down that Yellow Brick Road.
Except this Yellow Brick Road is played by a team of dancers, who bracket our heroes Dorothy (Dana Cimone), Lion (Cal Mitchell), Tinman (D. Jerome) and Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis) as they go off to see the Wiz (Alan Mingo Jr.) in the Emerald City, the hottest nightclub around. There are even more witches, evil and good, with Glinda (Sheherazade) but also other good witch, the humorous Addaperle (Amitria Fanae) and the big baddie, Evilene (Kyla Jade), whose sister was crushed by Dorothy’s house. This show emphasizes the dancing and choreography over the songs, with wonderful results, but the show still has that famous “Ease on Down the Road” tune, and some very big powerful voices, particularly with those witches, although Dorothy herself certainly has the pipes.
It still all starts out on a farm in Kansas but this Dorothy is not a girl who has never been off the farm, dreaming of the wider world. This Dorothy is a city girl, transplanted to her Auntie Em’s farm, and wondering how she is going to fit in. Her loving aunt is there to help but it is going to be up to Dorothy herself. Especially when a “tornado” – a wonderful team of athletic, acrobatic dancers who spin and leap in dizzying arcs – sweeps in and carries her off to Oz.
While there is no Toto or flying monkeys, those changes are more than made up for by what we do get. Dana Cimone as Dorothy is a charmer with a big voice, and her companions, Lion (Cal Mitchell), Tinman (D. Jerome) and Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis), are all funny and great dancers and singers, with Lewis a special standout in the dancing.
The lead actors are excellent but it is the those teams of dancers, who play the tornado, Yellow Brick Road, and other parts, that make this show both unusual and entertainingly creative. We will still get the sparkly costumes and pretty sets we expect but the dancers make it unique, while delighting with their choreography.
A trip to see “The Wiz” is a delightful journey indeed. “The Wiz” is on stage at the Fabulous Fox through Dec. 7, 2025.
© Cate Marquis
