Theater

“The Wiz” Eases on Down to Portland

The “Wizard of Oz” reimagining hits the stage later this winter, after “Wicked: For Good” likely finishes defying gravity in movie theaters.

By Rachel Saslow
Cal Mitchell as The Lion, Dana Cimone as Dorothy, D. Jerome as The Tinman, and Elijah Ahmad Lewis as The Scarecrow in the North American Tour of THE WIZ. (Jeremy Daniel)

For Glinda girlies who just can’t get enough Wizard of Oz content, Broadway in Portland has got you. Tickets for the Broadway revival of The Wiz go on sale at 10 am Monday, Oct. 20 for the eight performances at Keller Auditorium Feb. 3-8.

The Wiz premiered on Broadway in 1975 as a soul, gospel and ’70s funk twist on the L. Frank Baum children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The “all-Black musical extravaganza” went on to win seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, according to a press release. The show tells the story of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a modern world.

The Wiz‘s February run comes just weeks after part two of the Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo juggernaut Wicked, which opens on Nov 21, should likely wind down. (Portland had a similar setup last year, when the traveling Broadway musical of Wicked opened at Keller just weeks before part one of the Wicked movie hit theaters. The film version went on to gross $750 million worldwide in ticket sales, according to AMC Theatres.)

For true devotees to the franchise, AMC will host a double feature of Wicked and Wicked: For Good on Nov. 20 with a total showtime of five hours, 12 minutes.

The full schedule of Broadway shows coming to Keller this season is available here. First up will be Shucked Oct. 28-Nov. 2, followed by A Beautiful Noise, The Wiz, The Notebook, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia!, and Back to the Future.

Rachel Saslow

Rachel Saslow

Rachel Saslow is an arts and culture reporter. Before joining WW, she wrote the Arts Beat column for The Washington Post. She is always down for karaoke night.

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