Join 3 Chics for live blogging of The Wiz, Live tonight at 8pm EDT/7 CDT on NBC. Ease on down the road with us!
Watch it LIVE HERE. and also check out bios and behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast members.
If you find any great Tweets from Black Twitter, please post them.
PragmaticObotsUnite @PragObots
Review comes across as trying to marginalize Blackness. (ex. Mr. Green’s description of MJB and Ne-Yo). https://twitter.com/jessekgreen/status/672804074862022661 …
https://twitter.com/ElleLamar/status/672974662306045952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
TVbytheNumbers.com @TVbytheNumbers
Thursday final ratings: ‘The Wiz Live’ holds, ‘CMA Country Christmas’ adjusts down plus final NFL numbers http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/12/04/thursday-final-ratings-dec-3-2015/ …
Ron. @RonnieSnark 14h14 hours ago
This entire production is @ViolaDavis’ Emmy speech realized. The only thing that separates us from anyone else is opportunity. #TheWiz
https://youtu.be/CPQOD3YtXRM
http://www.bet.com/news/celebrities/2015/12/03/racist-tweets-are-already-flooding-in-about-the-wiz/_jcr_content/featuredMedia/newsitemimage.newsimage.dimg/120315-celebs-the-wiz-cast.jpg
http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/2889/6893/original.jpg
https://youtu.be/hzbMGOsHsQo
https://twitter.com/blackvoices/status/672803822197149697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Twitter Went Ballistic Over “The Wiz Live!”: See The 100 Best Reactions
Because who needs critics when you’ve got Twitter?
by Evan Ross Katz 5h ago
Last night, NBC aired The Wiz Live!, it’s third effort at reviving the live musical for television – and far and away its most successful.
The sentiment echoed throughout the hallowed halls of Twitter seemed to be universally positive:
http://www.newnownext.com/twitter-went-ballistic-over-the-wiz-live-see-the-100-best-reactions/12/2015/?xrs=synd_twitter_nnn
https://twitter.com/ACTing_NATURAL/status/672614332627345408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
LA Times:
‘The Wiz Live!’: Gorgeous, utterly sincere and attitude to spare
So now we know: It’s much easier to successfully stage a famous musical on live television if you cast a group of multi-talented, high-energy and personally kinetic performers who know how to own the spectacle rather than the other way around.
Oh, and get Cirque de Soleil involved if at all possible.
It certainly worked for “The Wiz Live!” the latest addition to NBC’s new holiday tradition. Unlike recent live musicals of Christmas past (“The Sound of Music,” “Peter Pan”), “The Wiz” did not serve itself up for live-tweeting snark.
Instead, it brought to the flat screen a gorgeous and utterly sincere celebration of the show that has been a fan favorite ever since it won an armful of Tonys 40 years ago. The Harvey Fierstein-tweaked script had plenty of pop culture references and attitude to spare–when Mary J. Blige is your Wicked Witch, there will be Attitude—but it remained a sincere and joyful celebration of the work.
Put on, it must be added, by a bona fide dazzling display of talent, including Amber Riley, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Queen Latifah and Uzo Aduba. Faced with such a high-wattage supporting cast, even a seasoned lead might be daunted, but newcomer Shanice Williams entered strong and remained the vivid heart of the piece. If her voice thinned out at times when the dancing got tough, she brought down the house every time she needed to—with Kelley and Ne-Yo in “Ease on Down the Road,” with Grier in the show-stopping “Be a Lion,” with all three in the new “We Got It” and in her big finale, “Home.”…
…The only real problem, beside the lack of sneer-tweet material, was logistical. The frequency and length of commercial interruptions went far beyond irritating, into the realm of destructive. Making “The Wiz Live!” a live television event best seen prerecorded.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-review-the-wiz-live-20151203-story.html
A.V. Club:
NBC finally gets it right withThe Wiz Live!
And that’s how you put on a show! The Wiz Live!may be NBC’s third recent attempt at staging a live musical, but it’s the first one that worked without any caveats necessary. I was kinder to The Sound Of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live! than most critics because I felt there was a lot of potential in the idea of staging live musical theater on TV. Tonight NBC proved my faith was well placed with a musical event that was finally worth watching and not just hate-watching.
It helps that The Wiz is just better source material for a live production than the past two bloated, old-fashioned musicals. While The Wiz isn’t exactly modern (it opened on Broadway in 1975), its radio-ready score and ever so slightly edgy book (there’s a joke about transporting a minor across state lines!) make it immediately accessible to modern audiences. While the show can be a bit plodding and anticlimactic at times (like, for instance, the Wicked Witch’s quick death), it’s smart enough to throw in an upbeat song every few minutes to keep things easing on down the road.
Rather than give audiences a celebrity to rootagainst this year, NBC smartly offered an underdog to root for. Newcomer Shanice Williams is easily the best lead NBC has cast so far, bringing heart and conviction to her modern day Dorothy (dressed in a red plaid miniskirt in place of Judy Garland’s iconic blue gingham). If her acting was sometimes a little low-energy, she more than made up for it each time she opened her mouth to sing. Her Disney princess-like rendition of “Soon As I Get Home” contrasted nicely with her powerful, rich performances of “Be A Lion” and “Home”—two numbers that likely brought tears to many eyes…
[a thoughtful review that makes some interesting observations]
…Really, however, those complaints are fairly minor, especially compared to the much larger issues I had with the past two NBC musicals. It’s a testament toThe Wiz Live! that the most people could find to snark about on Twitter was the noticeable lack of Toto during most of the show. Perhaps that’s because this production really did feel like something special.
Tonight’s broadcast was full of black actors of all different ages, skin tones, and body types playing characters that ranged from saintly to villainous and everywhere in-between (sometimes all at once: Dorothy is probably the most lovable murderer ever written). The show asserted—often explicitly—that these characters are smart, brave, loving, powerful, and beautiful. White audiences take it for granted how often we’re bolstered up by the media we watch. The Wiz Live! sent the same message to black audiences while simultaneously offering up a goofy, heartwarming piece of entertainment for everyone.
In other words, The Wiz Live! had courage, heart, brains, and one of the catchiest musical scores ever written. Really, what more could you ask for?
http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/nbc-finally-gets-it-right-wiz-live-229325
https://twitter.com/squeegool/status/672395015901999104/photo/1
https://youtu.be/DHzx2P4x63c
Our beloved Lena! Thanks for this.
https://youtu.be/RBRz3RTE7hE
https://youtu.be/tJLj5Bxuubo
https://youtu.be/Kv-rQ-Z5UlU
https://twitter.com/_WeAreBlack/status/672624054323556353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/yusufyuie/status/672634413545594880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/_WeAreBlack/status/672620463248527360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/kaceTHEkid/status/672616012097806336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
this is correct
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/672624820178190340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://youtu.be/cnKQN7TF4hQ
Broadway Black @BroadwayBlack
The original #Tinman costume will be part of the Nat’l Museum of African American History and Culture’s in 2016. #BBWiz #TheWiz
https://twitter.com/BroadwayBlack/status/672606925322903553/photo/1
https://twitter.com/MadameNoire/status/672625239214419968
https://twitter.com/PLAYBILLder/status/672613308151685122/photo/1
https://twitter.com/AndWhatRosen/status/672620511323639809/photo/1
https://twitter.com/blackvoices/status/672624938361204736/photo/1
lamh
Best one hands down.
Where’s that “you can’t beat Black folk” vine?
Black Excellence at it finest
Wiz Soundtrack on 12/11: http://amzn.to/1XE8ZHA
Wiz DVD on 12/22: http://amzn.to/1XE8Wvd
YES! I’ll be getting BOTH.
I Smell EMMY
Toto!!
https://twitter.com/revjskinner/status/672614279686856704/photo/1
YASSSSS
When I think of home…..
SING IT!!
This really is A Star is Born moment for this young woman..and I’m so happy we all get to see it.
I’m getting emotional.
TOTO!
HOME
Lena Horne is smiling:)
Sing it, Glinda!!
If you believe!!!!
BELEIVE
Glinda!
Loving Queen Latifah’s hair!
“Persona no gracious” I swear this show is giving me SO MUCH LIFE
#TotoPersonaNonGrata
https://twitter.com/SHARLO_XO/status/672601066815381504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
BWA HA HA HA
BE LIKE: “#WHEREMYDAWGTOTOAT?
https://twitter.com/ImSoManish/status/672607313648181248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Joshua Henry
@joshjenks 2m2 minutes ago
No bad news in this gahdamn DANCERY! #TheWiz
The SOul Train line!
Mary J/Evileene had church all up in there.
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Don’t nobody bring me no bad news!
AW Hail yourself, Evileene/mary J.
Did ya’ll see Twitter asking folks to TWEET Wiz. I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT.
LAWDT! The commercials are off the chain GREAT
Ok, Ya’ll know Mary J. gone BRANG IT
Wiz: “Did you not hear me? I said But, there’s a but in here.”
https://twitter.com/badpyt_/status/672605497808265217/photo/1
STOP! I.CAN’T.TAKE THIS. LOL
https://twitter.com/PragObots/status/672602376122028032/photo/1
**************************DEAD*************************
https://twitter.com/ughjeanri/status/672602193753604096/photo/1
HA HA HA HA
https://twitter.com/DillonJaden/status/672600632306610176/photo/1
https://twitter.com/CourtneyCymone/status/672603995215499268/photo/1
BWA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
TriniPrincess @TriniPrincess
#TheSoundofMusicLive & #PeterPanLive had to crash and burn for us to really appreciate the funk #TheWiz is bringing tonight. I ❤️ my people.
You better sang, SCARECROW!
https://twitter.com/nbc/status/672603680781131776/photo/1
That scene gave me so much LIFE, as does this TWEET with pic!
Go Ne Yo!
https://twitter.com/VernieMack/status/672589290443010049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
LOL Yes; because they invented the word IMITATION .
“What you looking for Rin Tin Tin, a can opener?” LMBAO
Wiz is wearing that costume too.
https://twitter.com/adub_dont_tweet/status/672601459536625664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/keepupwithle/status/672602818407088129/photo/1
Lion, what do you want? :”To get the hell ou of here.”
I love the costume for The Wiz!
Aw SHIDIGGETY! WIZ /Queen doing Calypso.
I am really enjoying this! Never saw the first Wiz.
Emerald City was doing that Vogue…and doing it to the nth degree.
@BroadwayBlack 40s40 seconds ago
If you’re enjoying this live production of #TheWiz, don’t forget the musical is coming to Broadway in 2016! #BBWiz
Oh Snap!
This production is already a CLASSIC, in my bool.
Leon’s bringing it & leaving it all on that stage.
WIZ!
ok, I’m up and shakin my groove thang to this beat right here.
The visuals…are amazing!
Visuals are EXTRAORDINARY.
Girl, you hit the trifecta..LOL
Peace out…LOL
Common
Common!
LOL Wanting his PALMS GREASED. I.DONE!
where da hell is TOTO?
it’s a live production and maybe he wasn’t acting right.
BWA HA HA HA They put Toto on ice.
Go Lion!!
Get those poppies!
Aw shit the seductive POPPIES!
John S. Troutman @TheOnlyTrout 32s32 seconds ago
It fascinates me that, in some ways, #TheWiz is actually more book-accurate than the MGM movie.
Dorothy explaining about the witch:
What had happened was…
LOL.
I swear this came across my mind
https://twitter.com/WonderJaye/status/672589954015494144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
LOL I’ll bet Peanut would ove the Wiz!
OMG Dorothy:: “What had happened was…”
Don’t fall for it, Dorothy!!
David Alan Grier
Love the choreography
imma mean old lion. LOL David Alan Greer is a hoot.
Eva-mean LOL
Awe , no heart
That stage crew is workin’ it.
Love the Tin Man costume
Tin Man
LOL NE YO!!!
Tin Man; “If you don’t STP, Crisco will do this fine.”
Star Wars ad- focused on the Brotha
Elijah Kelly nailed the scarecrow
Ease on down the road
Remember, this is all taking place on a STAGE
My grandson will enjoy watching this show. His music teacher is teaching them songs from the 60s. Three year olds learning, Motown, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beatles…ok!
Ne Yo
You can’t win!
You can’t win!!!!!
Oh, Michael….
The costumes…….the scarecrow!
Oh , I love this young woman. Love seeing a literal star making moment.
Shanice SHINES. She’s a STAR.
HOME!
Amber hit it
Amber is the BIZ!
I want the cast album
It’s on my WISH LIST.
The costumes and sets are wonderful
RICH
Ms. Mills still has it
Ok, Stephanie Mills singing that first ong, CHILLS……
Yes, indeed. I’m loving where this is going, so far. Are you?
I love the visuals