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May 25, 2006

It All Comes Back To The Wiz

Last night I attended the opening night of The St. Louis Black Repertory Theater's production of Dreamgirls. Before I explain why The Wiz is at the center of the universe, let me say that this show rocked. The actress playing Effie's "And I Am Tellin' You" is worth the price of admission. If you live in the area - go see it. It will sell out, so get your tickets now.

Now. As some of you know, the musical The Wiz has played a very important part in my life. I'm not sure which came first, all the times I did the show, or my complete and total love for the show. Now, the show itself, as a property, has its issues. But there is just something about the show that has me convinced that it will change the world. Don't ask. I just know. Let me start at the beginning...

I know I always knew the movie. And I know I always loved the Brand New Day scene in the movie (pubes and all) and that when I was little I thought the number was a commercial for Viva! brand papertowels (Can't you, Viva! Brand new day?) I also know that the subway scene and the flying monkeys always scared me as a child. I love The Wizard of Oz as well. I think I actually know the lines to that move better than that of The Wiz movie. I don't think I ever saw the stage version until I was cast in one.

WIZ #1
Junior year of high school, 1991. And you know I wanted to be Dorothy. It was not meant to be, and I was cast as the scarecrow (costume is still stapled as if being worn on the wall in the back of my closet @ my parents'). Ryan was the Tinman, Carlos the Lion, and Lisa Dorothy. Perry, were you dance captain? It was a crazy time. Mainer pitting us against each other ("he/she's going to steal the show if you let him. Don't, you're better than that"). I think that was the beginning of the Carlos/Ryan/Nicole/Gabe/Rebecca/Callista/Perry/etc. world of madness - which lasted throughout the rest of high school and reverberates to this day. It being Edwardsville and all, this was a multi-culti production all the way.

WIZ #2
Fast forward to just after high school graduation, Carlos has just been freed from the military by Ted Koplar and Team 11, Perry's chillin' before his senior year, and this is my last summer before college. In my parents' family room, we get the spirit of Mickey and Judy and want to put on a show. My mother is the fundraising chair for the Madison County Urban League, so we decide to do a fund raising musical. The Wiz. I'm pretty sure half the show was choreographed that night in that very room. After auditions, we're at a loss for who to play the Wiz. Again, in my parents' living room, we come up with the idea that we should get a well known community member to play the role, someone who will sell tickets... my dad. We pitch it to him, he guffaws, we leave for Steak n' Shake. We return hours later to find him practicing. We raise $15,000 for the Urban League that summer.

WIZ #3
The Dolphin show is a yearly occurance at Northwestern University, performed in the large campus theatre, Cahn Auditorium, and is billed as the "largest fully student produced show in the nation." It's a different production every year, and to produce or direct it is a coveted position. It was my first project when I transferred to NU (ASM for Meet Me In St. Louis - "It's gonna be a fairyland!"), and when it came time for student petitions for my senior year I had a plan. Yeah, you guessed it. A big ol' phat multi-culti production of... The Wiz. Well, the board couldn't quite see my multi-culti vision, and there were stronger candidates with safer show choices and I was denied. That summer I interned at Disney Theatrical in NYC, and it became clear that I didn't need the Dolphin show to do my big phat multi-culti production of The Wiz in Cahn auditorium. Northwestern also has a big ol' phat annual student run fundraiser called Dance Marathon. I figured they could use a fundraising musical. My brilliant friends Tim and Kelly stepped up to produce this bohemoth, and the Dance Marathon Musical was born. Perry had moved to Chicago for school and resurrected his role as choreographer. We set out to find non-theatre folks to audition for the show. We found some doozies, but we also found some incredibly talented dancers and singers who'd never set foot on the theatrical stage. Of our 4 leads, 1 had been in a show before. Our Dorothy, Jia, had these inCREdible pipes that up until then, she'd only used at church. Everyone thought we were insane, we took heat from the theatre department for adding such a large show overlapping with their spring musical, but we pulled it off and then some.

WIZ #4
In 1998, in between naps under our desks at the Wasser office, Dwayne and I decide we need to get back to performing the performing side of things. We find an audition for an off-off-off broadway children's theatre production of Big River, and figure they'll be looking for black actors, and we can be shoe ins. We're right, and he's cast as the lead and I one of the solo singing roles. The story that ensued with Sharon hating me is for another blog entry. Actually, many things about that production are for another blog entry. But I digress. The next year this group announces a multi-culti production of... The Wiz. I play Glenda. I get to know Kathi and her children Erin and Matthew. Sharon starts to speak to me. Kathi let's me know that the garden apartment in Brooklyn next door to her is coming up for rent.

Since about 1997, I have off and on seriously pursued the actual first class rights to produce The Wiz. It has a bad reputation as a property, local presenters don't see it as a money maker. Most still see it as an "all black" production. First class rights on a property like that are actually attainable for a little ol' nobody like me.

INQUIRY #1
I'm working at the Wasser office, it's around New Year's 1998 and Carlos and Perry have come to New York to ring it in. When we get together, we come up with crazy ambitious ideas. Never fails. So we call Samuel French, they give us the name of the lawyer representing the rights (same lawyer who works with the Wasser office), we put together a proposal and fax it over. I follow up and find out there's someone sniffing around the property, that there's already a meeting set up with the rights custodian, but she'll mention our proposal. The other folks get the rights. A year later, my friend Kristen sees a friend she hasn't seen in a while, and he mentions he's one of two producers with the first class production rights to The Wiz. She mentions that her friend Nicole inquired about those and was beaten out by someone who must be he and his partner. He exclaims - "she's the one who cost us $10,000!" Glad I could be a bargaining chip. After this, I actually set up and had a meeting with them, they were talking to a ton of R&B "names" for roles and music, but ultimately it amounted to nothing, because they couldn't get any presenters on board for a tour.

INQUIRY #2
In 2001, after the 1st season of Popstars, I formulate my ultimate idea, which I will someday execute. I know network execs don't read my blog, and I know that maybe my idea is completely insane, but I refuse to spell it out here if only so when it DOES happen, I don't even have to entertain the fact that it was stolen. It's almost happened in a few different instances, but it's never been played out the way I see it, and so I hold my breath. Of course this idea centers around The Wiz. I pitch this idea to a friend who happs to be the Exec Producer for a major production entity, and she says, well let's see who has the rights. No longer the folks I cost $10,000. Now the rights are held by a major NY producer. Just purchased in fact.

INQUIRY #3
At the 2003 holiday party of the friend mentioned above, I get to talking to a woman who I later discover is a production manager for the company mentioned above and she tells me they still have the rights, and she'll see where they are in the process, and if see if I can get in for a meeting. After some back and forth, she let's me know that there are no definite plans for the immediate future, but that i should check back.

I followed up recently, the details of which I won't write here, but essentially, same folks have the rights, and have finally announced a usage. Right now, just a one-off production in CA.

All of that, a long winded way of attempting to illustrate how The Wiz has been a constant in my life over the past 15 years.

So last night, mom mom and I attend the opening night for Dreamgirls. I sit down, open the program, and who's playing Deena (one of the leads), but Jia, the Dorothy from Wiz #3, whom I haven't spoken to since I graduated 10 years ago. Shocked, I was. And so PROUD! At the afterparty, we silenced the room with the girlish insanity that insued when we saw each other.

Posted by nikl at May 25, 2006 10:06 PM

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