The Wiz, NBC’s latest “Live Musical” attempt, already boasts a star-studded cast: Mary J. Blige as the Wicked Witch of the West, Queen Latifah as a gender-bent twist on The Wiz, plus Stephanie Mills (who played Dorothy in the original Broadway version) as Auntie Em. NBC hopes to cast Beyoncé as Glinda, and Uzo Aduba is in talks to join the cast as well.
My inner Beyoncé fandom is saying yessssss, but my inner musical theatre fandom is saying hmmm. I’d love to see Beyoncé take on a role in The Wiz, but Glinda only sings one song, and it’s designed for an alto, not a mezzo with a four-octave range and a glorious upper register. It’s not that Beyoncé can’t hit the notes in Glinda’s song; I’m sure she could. But I also won’t be surprised if the song gets a big key change.
Unlike the people poo-pooing Beyoncé’s potential role, I don’t think it matters that she isn’t exactly renowned for her acting chops. She can definitely perform live, even in a stripped-down acoustic setting. What’s more, NBC’s past live musicals (The Sound of Music and Peter Pan) haven’t been particularly good, and the only other existing film adaptation of The Wiz is a notoriously low bar to clear (except for Michael Jackson’s stand-out performance, that is). When it comes to these NBC musicals, people tune in for campy dialogue delivery and impressive musical performances. If the songs are good — especially when it comes to a song-heavy musical like The Wiz — that’ll be enough to carry the evening along.
What do you think? Do you hope Beyoncé accepts the role of Glinda? Who do you think Uzo Aduba is in talks to play? Who else would you like to see casted? Personally, I’m hoping Janelle Monae gets tapped, for Scarecrow or Tin Man or, uh, literally any role in this show.
(via Jezebel)
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