It’s already been confirmed that Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah have signed on to play Evillene and the Wizard respectively in NBC’s upcoming live TV version of the musical “The Wiz.” Now the coveted role of Dorothy finally has a face!
Eighteen-year-old New Jersey native Shanice Williams will play the leading role in The Wiz Live! Williams beat out hundreds of other hopefuls to play the young girl who gets swooped up over the rainbow in search of Oz. Williams has five-years of theater experience, having appeared in local productions of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, West Side Story, 42nd Street, Seussical, and Pippin.
Along with Blige and Latifah, Williams will join actor/comedian David Alan Grier in the live production as the Cowardly Lion, and Stephanie Mills (who played the original Dorothy on Broadway) as Auntie Em in this tv production. Beyonce is reportedly in talks to play Glinda, the good witch.
Congrats, Shanice! The Wiz Live! will air on Dec 3. Will you be watching?
Pull back the curtain! It's time to find out who will play Dorothy in #TheWizLive, coming December 3 to NBC. https://t.co/5WXgmnrEL1
— NBC (@nbc) August 5, 2015
