'Frasier' actor Alan Mingo Jr. will return to the title role of 'The Wiz' on Broadway, replacing original cast member Wayne Brady in the title role.
He will play his first official performance on Thursday, June 13.
Mingo Jr. played the role of 'The Wiz' on tour before Brady joined the company at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre and Los Angeles' Hollywood Pantages Theatre. In April, the revival of the show launched on Broadway.
"I'm thrilled to return to playing The Wiz, a role that I loved playing nightly on the National Tour. My mother took me to see this musical when I was a child, and there aren't many shows you can say that about,' he said.
The Tony Award-winning 1974 musical 'The Wiz' is a black-only adaptation of 'The Wizard of Oz.' The show combines Black music, dancing, and culture into the beloved tale.
This groundbreaking adaptation of 'The Wizard of Oz' transformed Broadway features a legendary score infused with rock, gospel, soul, and 70s funk. Modern pop, jazz, and ballet are combined to create a fresh groove to ease down the road.
'The Wiz' has a Tony Award-winning score by Charlie Smalls and a book by William F. Brown. The show's revival was choreographed by JaQuel Knight and directed by Schele Williams.
Furthermore, Tony Award nominee Amber Ruffin contributed additional material for this revival.
Along with Joseph Joubert's orchestrations, music arrangements, and music supervision, the show also featured vocal and music arrangements by Allen René Louis, dance music arrangements by Terence Vaughn and Adam Blackstone, and music direction by Paul Byssainthe Jr.
The Broadway cast includes Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Debbie Cox as Glinda, Melody A. Betts as Aunt Em/Evillene, Kyle Ramar Freeman as Lion, Phillip Johnson Richardson as Tinman, and Avery Wilson as Scarecrow.
