NEW YORK (AP) — NBC has found the young woman who will ease on down the yellow brick road.
The network on Wednesday unveiled newcomer Shanice Williams from New Jersey as its Dorothy for the Dec. 3 live production of “The Wiz Live!”
Says the 18-year-old: “This is always what I wanted to do. So I guess I’m ready.”
Williams joins a cast that includes Queen Latifah as The Wiz, Mary J. Blige as the Wicked Witch of the West and David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion.
“The Wiz” is adapted from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum, with a book by William F. Brown, and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The production opened on Broadway in 1975 and won seven Tonys, including best musical.
