Of the NBC live productions, 'The Wiz' is by far the best, which is saying a lot seeing as 'The Sound of Music' and particularly 'Peter Pan' fell completely flat. Also think that it is a big improvement over the 1978 Sidney Lumet-directed film with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. That did have a few good thing, such as Jackson, but generally it is down there with the worst film musicals with Ross being horribly miscast and the whole thing felt misconceived. 'The Wiz Live' is not perfect but entertained and was mostly well performed, far better than anticipated. The musical itself this reviewer likes a lot, there may be some bias though as someone who performed the backing vocals in our school production ten years ago and has fond memories of the experience. The songs, in a 1970s Motown style, are catchy with a great mix of the funny and the emotional, and are surprisingly accessible, and the story is a clever updated version of the classic 'Wizard of Oz' story. Starting with the many good things, 'The Wiz' is by far the best-looking of the NBC live productions, 'Peter Pan' did look beautiful if a little confined sometimes in space while 'The Sound of Music' looked sparse and cheap. 'The Wiz' however is far more expansive in space and is bursting with colour with inspired use of video screen to create background sets. The costumes, apart from the cheap ones for the Winkies that are not right for dancing really, are beautifully designed and look great especially the breathtaking one for Glinda. Choreography is full of energy, with a fantastic contribution by Cirque De Soleil who not only do some wonderful dancing and characterful acting for the Flying Monkeys and Poppy Girls but manage to solve potential problems with scene changes, was surprised at how well the tornado came off. The staging is similarly energetic and also boasts some very touching moments, though this reviewer has always found the ending rushed and abrupt and it's the case here. Less successful is the updated dialogue, with some jokes that badly jar and feel stale and out of date. Musically, the production is mostly very good, with rousing and nuanced playing from the band, beautifully balanced and enthusiastic backing vocals and alert and sympathetic musical direction. Most of the performances are quite excellent, with standouts being Elijah Kelly's vulnerable and full-of-life Scarecrow, Ne-Yo's charming and sometimes witty Tin Man, David Allen Grier's purr-fect (pun intended) Lion, Amber Riley's sympathetic Addaperle and Stephanie Mills (a great Dorothy herself a long time ago) touching Aunt Em who makes the most out of "The Feeling We Once Had". Unfortunately a few don't come off so well. Shanice Williams' inexperience does show in some rather one-dimensional acting and stiff and not-sure-of-the-steps dancing as Dorothy, though she does possess a good voice, especially in "Home" and "Ease On Down the Road". Uzo Aduba looks and acts positively angelic as Glinda, but while some of her singing is good she does sound strained and flat in "Believe in Yourself". Mary J Blige and particularly Queen Latifah are more problematic. Mary J Blige sings well in the role of Evilene, though this viewer prefers a more gospel sound in "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News", but her acting falls flat, Evilene should be menacing but also funny, Blige is neither and looks ill at ease with the menace being non-existent and the scenery-chewing being ham-fisted and unnatural. In a gender reversal, Latifah is all wrong in the title role, she shouts her way as well as sounding somewhat drunk in her introductory song and her acting feels like a bizarre comedy skit with flat line delivery. Overall, while an uneven production 'The Wiz Live' was far better than anticipated. By far the best of the NBC Live production and superior to the film. 6/10 Bethany Cox

More of a Wiz adaptation than Michael Jackson's acting of Scarecrow. And I might have seen this adaptation before the other one from Tom and Jerry.

I love the movie but this didnt even come close. I think Ne-Yo was the best.

Probably my favorite Live production yet. Enough said.

Very good Musical. Got a lot of Black Creativity

Love love love this. The music, the costumes, the band was top notch, as were the vocals.

NBC's best live musical yet! Shanice Williams has a dazzling voice and sassy moves, and I like her more yearning rendition of "Home," though I do enjoy the casting of the original Dorothy, Stephanie Mills, as Auntie Em. Elijah Kelley is a groovin' powerhouse, and I wish there were more song and dance roles for him. The story and songs got a bit repetitive by the end, Common looked like he was actively not acting, and Queen Latifah as the Wiz seemed an interesting choice but with lackluster execution. Nevertheless, it has been the most professional production so far with probably the highest energy and most vibrant (but not tacky) design.

A major improvement on NBC's previous live productions. The singing and acting are great.

Well, it was definitely better than Peter Pan, Live! I'll give it that. Overall I enjoyed the attempt, but I felt that this one fell short in a lot of ways. The actress playing Dorothy was clearly giving it her all, but her voice, in my opinion, was ill suited to the role. Loved the Lion and Tin Man. Their stage presence was always on point.

much much much better than the diana ross version of 1978

This was good, better then the other two musicals from nbc. Hopefully a step in the right direction.

The Wizard of Oz 3/4/5. I don't know. The 2nd remake to the original Wizard of Oz and especially the direct remake to the '78 classic starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor. Okay, we had an all-star cast. Cool. That didn't stop the film from being some awkwardly quirky film that tried to be way too different from the original. Don't care what anyone says, this remake nails it. A lot. So much that it's like one of the least offensive musicals. Let me explain. A lot of times, I feel the issues with the musicals is the timing. Too many musicals have too many songs and they are like 1 minute apart from each other, it might as well not be a movie. Often times as a result, the placement of the songs into the storyline and being mixed with the dialogue is just awkward and bad. The biggest thing that this remake does is eliminate redundancy. It took out awkward and questionable scenes that did nothing for the plot and sped up the storyline. Sometimes too fast. The death of the South Witch was awful. The capture scene was rushed. Some things should have been kept, the subway scene. Other things are thankfully gone like the extremely awkward backgrounds. The environments made little to no sense. I applaud the much better scenes with The Wizard of Oz. This is a fantastic film and I recommend folks to watch the original first. But this outclasses it in every way possible.

NBC has done it right this time with this modern update of the 1975 broadway hit that takes "The Wizard of Oz" and tells it in the style of soul music and African American culture! Shanice Williams blew me away as Dorothy, Mary J. Blige was beautifully wicked as the Wicked Witch, and the costumes, choreography and Cirque Du Soleil acrobatics were phenomenal! If you love musical theatre, and anything Oz-related, "ease on down" and watch this upbeat and fun musical journey!