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When Dorothy Meets Dorothy: Stephanie Mills & Shanice Williams Duet “Home” From The Wiz
WE CAN’T BREATHE! What could we say to get you to understand the power of what you’re about see? We’ve been gushing all over The Wiz Live since the initial announcement of its coming live broadcast. So to see the original Broadway Dorothy, Stephanie Mills, sing with the new Dorothy, Shanice Williams, of NBC’s Live version, is beyond anything we could ever imagine.
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This year is the 40th Anniversary of The Wiz and we are so thankful that NBC has been showing respect in so many great ways. The newest of ways is in the People.com web exlcusive. You’ll see Stephanie Mills & Shanice Williams along with Broadway musical director Zane Mark. As Mark plays the piano, the two amazing talents duet and sing “Home” with such ease and grace it will blow your mind. We also love that a “Sing, Shanice!” was thrown in there because we were saying the same thing on our end. This is just a piece of heaven.
Stephanie Mills, who was the original Dorothy in the Broadway production of The Wiz in 1975 and for the revival in 1984, will play Aunt Em in NBC’s live production of the musical December 3.
Watch Mills & Williams sing “Home” from The Wiz in intimate performance below.
Also watch a behind the scenes look at how Shanice Williams became Dorothy in NBC’s The Wiz Live and a little bit about what her life has been like since.
Joining these two talents are Ne-Yo as the “Tinman,” Elijah Kelley (Lee Daniels’ “The Butler”) as the “Scarecrow,” and David Alan Grier as “The Cowardly Lion.”
True to their word of incorporating amazing acrobatic feats, several of the ensemble cast have experience as Cirque du Soleil performers. We can’t wait to see how choreographer Fatima Robinson has these amazing performers soaring.
Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah & Grammy Award winner Mary J. Blige are also in the cast of The Wiz Live. Latifah will play “The Wiz,” a role originated on stage by the incomparable Andre De Shields (Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Full Monty). Blige will portray the role of “Evillene”, the horrible wicked witch known for the upbeat “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News,” in addition to Uzo Aduba as Glinda The Good Witch, and Amber Riley as Addaperle, as previously announced.
The ensemble, in alphabetical order are: Chris Borrero, Olutayo Bosede, James Brown III, Ta’rea Campbell, Jessica Castro,Kacie Garland, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Frankie Gordils, Khadija Griffith,Tre Holloway, Antonio Hudnell, Carlos Irizarry, Marcus Paul James,Frederic Jean, Capathia Jenkins, Mykal Kilgore, Tamika Lawrence, India R. McGee, Antonio Moore, Maurice Murphy, Danielle Polanco, Malaiyka Reid, Eric Sanchez, Chris Silcox, Sherisse Springer, Ahmahd Thomas, Raphael Thomas, Elon Van Buckley, Alex Wade, Donald Webber, DaShaun Wesley, Xavier Wilcher, and NaTasha Yvette Williams.
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It’s A Snoopsical! Snoop Dogg Joined by Tamar Braxton for Redemption of A Dogg Musical Stageplay
Yes, You read that right. Snoop Dogg will make his theatrical debut in a new stage play titled Redemption of a Dogg also starring R&B superstar Tamar Braxton. Teaming up with the same producer who brought us Set It Off Live!, Je’Caryous Johnson, the play will begin touring in October starting in Houston, TX.
The stage play is said to ‘examine the internal battle one man has between preserving his life-long legacy and losing the love of his life when he is faced with choosing fame and fortune over faith and family.”
“Redemption of a Dogg is set against a backdrop of Snoop Dogg’s greatest hits, as well as, songs from his recently released chart-topping Gospel album, Bible Of Love.” according to the press release.
“Please believe you’ve never seen urban theatre like this! With my flavor and his (Je’Caryous Johnson) expertise, we’re gonna bring the people an unmissable show. I can’t wait for everyone out there to see it!” — Snoop Dogg
FALL 2018 REDEMPTION OF A DOGG TOUR DATES:
October 5-7 Houston, TX Hobby Center
October 11 Newark, NJ NJPAC
October 12-13 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theater
October 14 Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre
October 19 St. Louis, MO Stifel Theatre
October 20-21 Chicago, IL Arie Crown
October 25-27 Detroit, MI Music Hall
October 28 Cleveland, OH KeyBank State Theatre
November 2 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
November 8 Norfolk, VA Chrysler Hall
November 9-11 Washington, DC Warner Theatre
November 16 Los Angeles, CA Microsoft Theater
November 17 Long Beach, CA Terrace Theater
November 18 Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
*Dates Subject to Change Without Notice and More Cities To Be Added
For more info go to www.jecaryous.com
It’s time Y’all, for the 2018 Tony Awards. This Sunday. Go to church. Grab a plate from your grandma or play-cousins house and get comfy!
Some of the performances we are looking ready for include the wig snatch that is Caissie Levy! Bruce Springsteen, who is also going to rock the stage! EVERYTHING that is Once On This Island! While we too are secretly hoping for that Yolanda Adams bop from Spongebob The Musical to be performed, we know whatever Tina Landau and her aquatic squad bring to the Radio City Stage is sure to help us get through the inevitable Tony recovery week that looms head on Monday.
New musicals nominated include: “The Bands Visit,” “Mean Girls,” “Frozen,” and “Spongebob Squarepants The Musical,” each nominated for Best New Musical. Adding to that list, “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” which brings along two performance nominations.
This season of musical revivals includes “Carousel”, “Once On This Island”, and “My Fair Lady”.
Once on This Island
Photo: Joan Marcus
Plays nominated this season, new and revived, include: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”, “The Children”, “Farinelli And The King”, “Junk”, “Latin History for Morons, Angels In America”, “Three Tall Women”, “The Iceman Cometh”, “Lobby Hero”, “Travesties”, and Saint Joan’s Condola Rashad.
Some of the presenters include Bernadette Peters, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kerry Washington, Titus Burgess, and Viola Davis (not really. But if we say her name in the mirror three times, she’ll appear right?)
Who else is set to appear? Glad you asked. You’ll see the familiar faces of Uzo Aduba, Leslie Odom Jr., James Monroe Iglehart, Christopher Jackson, and more!
So tune in to CBS June 10th, Sunday at 8 pm eastern time to catch all the fantastic performances and see who gets to turn from Tony Award Nominee to Tony Award winner!
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