Sarasota’s Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe opens ‘The Wiz’

It’s one of those classic musicals, the kind everyone knows and loves, the kind that gets adapted as a massively successful motion picture with lots of big stars, the kind that local and regional theaters produce all the time, the kind that even gets a live network TV production, just like “The Sound of Music.”

So it’s hard to remember that, back when it premiered 42 years ago, “The Wiz” was something revolutionary, almost radical.

“It’s fun for me to realize that, when it was first done back in 1974, it was a direct commentary on African-American life,” said Kenney Green, who’s directing and choreographing the upcoming production of “The Wiz” at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota.

There had been some successful Broadway shows with African-American casts and themes, but they mostly had been straight plays or musical revues. Broadway certainly never had seen anything like “The Wiz.” “Purlie” had done well a couple of years before, but it didn’t become the social phenomenon that “The Wiz” became.

The stakes were high, especially because composer/lyricist Charlie Smalls and book writer William F. Brown had the audacity to tinker with one of America’s treasures, “The Wizard of Oz.”

“It was a big risk,” Green said. “But everyone who saw it loved it. And everyone else wanted to see it.”

It turned out that the story of “The Wizard of Oz” didn’t need much tweaking to become a commentary on urban America. The “Wiz” writers maintained most of the narrative, but added a soulful feel to the dialogue and songs.

“The Wiz” quickly became a show that wasn’t just for African-American audiences. Or even African-American casts.

“If you Google ‘The Wiz,’ 90 percent of the high schools that do it are all Caucasian,” Green said.

The original production of “The Wiz” was nominated for eight Tony Awards, and won seven, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. It made an immediate star of Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy. “Ease on Down the Road” became a top-40 hit.

The movie musical, with Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne, and additional songs by the then-obscure songwriting team Ashford & Simpson, further elevated the show’s stature.

For the WBTT production, Green is taking elements from both the Broadway music and the film.

One of the hit songs from the movie, “You Can’t Win,” was not in the Broadway production. Most people assumed it was an addition to the movie, but Green discovered it had been part of the stage musical — the opening number of the second act — but had been cut during the pre-Broadway run. So Green reinserted it into his stage version. But essentially, he said he has stayed faithful to the stage musical.

“If you love the movie you definitely will love this,” Green said. “If you notice some difference from the movie it’s because they were in the Broadway version.”

Green is based in New York. This is his first time working with WBTT. He said he’s hoping it’s not his last.

“I’m enjoying it thoroughly,” he said. “This is my first time here, but if they asked me to make this my second home, that’d be just fine with me.”

Details: Oct. 15-Nov. 20, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1646 10th Way, Sarasota. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $29.50. 941-366-1505, westcoastblacktheatre.org.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Sarasota’s Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe opens ‘The Wiz’."