Hope Mill Theatre is thrilled to be presenting the first new UK production of The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in ten years this Christmas. The Wiz is a reworking of L. Frank Baum’s popular children’s storey The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls, a narrative by William F. Brown, and fresh orchestrations by Harold Wheeler.
Matthew Xia, Artistic Director of Actors Touring Company, will direct the new production, with Sean Green providing musical supervision and orchestrations and Leah Hill providing choreography.
Hope Mill Theatre is co-producing with producer Ameena Hamid and adding Assistant Producer ChuChu Nwagu to the team.
The Wiz premiered on October 21, 1974, in Baltimore’s Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, before moving to Broadway’s Majestic Theatre on January 5, 1975.
Seven Tony Awards were given to the 1975 Broadway staging, including Best Musical. It has since been revived in New York, London, San Diego, and the Netherlands, and in June 2009, Encores! produced a limited-run revival at New York City Center. Ted Ross and Mabel King reprised their roles in a big-budget film version of the same name released in 1978.
