The Wiz

[shadowkat]

NBC's Live Broadcast of The Wiz was really good. And by far the best performance of NBC's Live Musical Broadcasts to date. Show stopping performances, and catchy dance numbers.

I was pleasantly surprised. Last year's Peter Pan was unwatchable, and I found Sound of Music amateurish. This was far better than 1978 film, and based on the Tony Award Winning Broadway Musical of the same name, not the film versions, with a few modern updates.

I have to admit - I always preferred The Wiz to The Wizard of Oz, for one thing the songs are a lot better. The Wizard of OZ really only has one memorable song - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", while the Whiz has about five, "Bring me No Bad News", "Brand New Day", "Ease on Down the Road", "Believe", and
"Home". Also "Mean old Lion". And the plot/metaphors are closer in some respects to political metaphors of the books - with the territorial witches of east, west, north and south fighting for control of OZ.

This round they actually got professional theater and vocal performers as opposed to movie actors - such as Cirque Du Soliel, Mary J. Blige, Amber Riley (Glee), Queen Latifa, Ne-Yo, and David Alan Grier in key roles.

If you haven't caught it? You can watch it online Here

The other notable bit? It was a musical with a completely black cast. No white people. If you consider the last two productions were pretty much just white casts...this is a big and rather wonderful change of pace. The fact that more people watched this presentation than the last two...bodes well for the future of television.

Now, can we hope for a diverse cast for the next presentation? Or preferably color-blind casting?

I think so. In the past ten years, I've noticed more television series have diverse casts. As opposed to token blacks, token women, token Asian, etc. In the 20th Century, for the most part, this was the case. But in the 21st Century - this appears to be changing in a major way. YAY!

Comments

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't normally do this, but I would edit Mary J Blige's name, as your typo is very insulting :-)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Done. Thank you for the catch. Usually grammarly will catch it for me -- but it didn't do it this round.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Loved it, too. I started to watch it live, but there were so many commercials! I taped it and watched with fast forward through those, and it was much better.

I especially loved the guy who played the lion, and Crazy Eyes as Glinda, and of course Queen Latifah. Also neat to see Mercedes from Glee as Addapearle. The actor who played Aunt Em was the original Dorothy in 1975, I was amazed to learn.

Great costumes, too.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I did the same thing -- I recorded it, so I could fast forward through the commercials. The NPR review critiques both the commercial interruptions and the slow somewhat jarring camera angles. The direction wasn't stellar, and it probably should have been filmed in front of a live studio audience, with less commercial breaks, which broke up the flow of the piece.

What should have been one or two hours, was extended to three with commercials.

It's one of the things I love about streaming, no commercials.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

It's weird when I'm watching made-for-TV things on streaming and can tell that a commercial has been left out--the shows that were originally on TV have a very different structure from the ones that were made to be streamed in the first place.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I've noticed this as well. The ones made for commercial television seem to have act breaks...where they end on a cliff-hanger right before the commercial break. Actually in an interview, various Buffy writers stated that they structured the narrative around projected commercial breaks. In streaming...it's more like a film, without the cliff-hanger breaks.

I notice it when I stream made for broadcast television shows such as Longmire.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Yes, Longmire was really noticeable. I think I was watching Orange is the New Black at the same time I was watching that, and the difference really drew my attention.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

You'd have black space, then action.

Noticed it with the Buffy and Angel DVDs as well. And in the commentaries - the writers sort of apologize for it, saying...oh, commercial break, that's why there's this weird act break here, for those of you watching this for the first time. (I didn't know that they actually structured it that way, until I listened to those commentaries - it was eye-opening how they structured the drama around advertisements, and how aware they were of them.)

[ann1962]

I actually watched about the first 30 minutes or so. And for me, that is like other's watching a year's worth of musicals. It was very well done before I fell asleep.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Did you try to watch it live? Because if so, I don't blame you for falling asleep.


I recorded it - and watched it last night, fast-forwarding through commercials.

(I also admittedly surfed the net and was coloring in an adult coloring book during a portion of it. It was slow in places - not the best direction. But in comparison to their previous productions - very well done. But I think the commercial interuptions were a problem.)

Ugh, is anyone else having issues with responding to comments in LJ? Every time I do - the font is crazy, but posts fine.

[ann1962]

Yes, live. I wouldn't have bothered recording it.

My LJ's been fine.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I never watch anything live any longer - I can't stand commercials. If it's live, I'll lose interest and drift off to something else. (Actually, I have troubles sticking with tv shows now...I'm watching Quantico on my DVR now and surfing LJ). Everything is taped on my DVR or streamed.

[rachelraewilson.livejournal.com]

Missed it. Hope it reairs over the holidays.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Or, if you are so inclined, you can watch it online.

(I think it will re-air though, Peter Pan and Sound of Music did and they weren't quite as lauded or popular.)