Cal Mitchell, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Dana Cimone, D. Jerome, and Alan Mingo Jr. Photo by Jeremy Daniel

In 1975, The Wiz brought a new look, sound, and sensibility to the story. With a book by William F. Brown and score by Charles Smalls (with songs by Timothy Graphenreed and Luther Vandross and songs with lyrics by Luther Vandross), it won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Musical, as well as Best Score, Director, Choreographer, Costume Design, and Featured Actor and Actress Dee Dee Bridgewater and Ted Ross. Its sound was solidly connected to the 1970s soul grooves of that decade, and its designs reflected the swagger that accompanied the Black Power movement. Fifty years later, the score has been given new orchestrations (by Joseph Joubert, with the original orchestrations by Harold Wheeler credited as well) that pop the sound of the songs into the present decade.

Choreographer JaQuel Knight juxtaposes dances that resemble the Solid Gold style of the '70s with contemporary club and techno music motifs deployed by a tireless and amazingly lithe ensemble. The choreography is sublime throughout, with the "Tornado" ballet and the second act opening, an introduction to the snooty Ozians of "The Emerald City," done in three speeds, quite fantastic. The show, overall, is a fabulous fire bolt of energy, good vibes, and good will, directed by Schele Williams to make every moment entertaining, while telling a beloved old story.

Like the 1939 movie, Brown's book for The Wiz made changes in the narrative of Baum's rambling original novel and writer-comedian Amber Ruffin made further book changes for the 2024 production. All keep the general plot of Dorothy, a "typical" American girl from Kansas, swept away by a tornado to Oz, a land full of magic and whimsy. She is immediately dubbed a hero because her house fell from the tornado's grip and landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her and freeing the residents from her power. There, Dorothy makes friends and fights villains as she pursues her desire to go home by seeking the help of the Wizard. In the end, Dorothy learns that Wizards are pretend and that the power to achieve her goals comes from within.

Among the changes Ruffin made to the book is to have Dorothy come from the city to live in the country with her Aunt Em after her mother died. She is teased by her new schoolmates for being different, and doesn't know how to fit in, establishing her as a outsider looking for a way to belong. Also, there is no mention of an Uncle Henry, nor of Dorothy's father. Dorothy's world has been one with women in charge.

What else? You will find no Yellow Brick Road, just a road represented by four dancing guards who guide Dorothy on her way. We learn the logic behind the Wicked Witch of the West's obsession over Dorothy's slippers, which are now silver rather than ruby red. Another change: there are no Munchkins–just townspeople and, in the Emerald City, Ozians (though this distinction confuses me, since the spot Dorothy's house falls lands, and where she is celebrated as a witch-slayer by the Townspeople, is also in Oz–so wouldn't they all be Ozians? Perhaps I am overthinking this).

Also, there is no Toto. Cute as he is, riding in Dorothy's picnic basket on the back of her bicycle in the 1939 movie, I can't say I missed him.

The performers in the tour company have all been replaced since the Broadway stand, but the current cast is phenomenal, to a tee. Dana Cimone is a pint-sized dynamo as Dorothy, with a beautiful voice that brings strength but not a "belt" to "Be a Lion," "Wonder, Wonder Why?" (added for a 1984 revival, and brought back here), and the inspiring climactic "Home". Cimone conveys Dorothy's insecurities but also her spunk and her innate sense of decency and kindness–a class act all the way.

Cimone's three partners on the journey to Oz–Elijah Ahmad Lewis as the Scarecrow in search of a brain, D. Jerome as the Tinman in search of a heart, and Cal Mitchell as the Lion in search of courage–are all a match to Cimone in singing, dancing (Lewis particularly shines here), and acting, with a camaraderie among the foursome that makes their quickly formed fast friendship fully believable. Lewis excels in the comical "You Can't Win," a song that was cut during the show's try-out run back in 1974 and reinstated in the 1978 movie, giving Scarecrow a chance to show his ineptitude in counterpoint to a quartet of crows. Jerome effectively sheds his rust and comes to life in "Slide Some Oil to Me" and delivers a heartrending "What Would I Do If I Could Feel?" that drew bravos. Mitchell excels throughout at clowning and is a delight pretending to be ferocious in "Mean Ole Lion."

Alan Mingo Jr. plays the Wiz, presented from the beginning as a mortal man, not the terrifying disembodied head depicted in the movie. That said, he is a man who projects total authority and power, which Mingo does, intimidating his visitors racing through "Meet the Wizard" until the jig is up and the Wiz is revealed to be a scam, for which Mingo song-and-dances through the sublime "Y'all Got It," bringing to mind Chicago's Billy Flynn laying out the dirty truth in "Razzle Dazzle."

Sheherazade brings glamour to Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, who stirs up the crowd of townspeople with the spirited "He's the Wizard," but later imparts the ultimate lesson in self-affirmation to Dorothy, "Believe in Yourself," with bracing strength. Kyla Jade effectively portrays two polar opposites, supportive Aunt Em, tenderly reaching out to Dorothy in "The Feeling We Once Had," and over-the-top baddie Evillene, who makes a gospel blast out of "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News." As Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North who greets Dorothy in Oz, Amitria Fanae handily delivers a string of zingy one-liners like (referring to her dead sister witch underneath Dorothy's house) "She's flat, that's for sure. She's so flat, instead of a coffin we can put her in a manila folder."

Hannah Beachler's scenic design, Ryan O'Gara's lighting design, and Daniel Brodie's video and projection design, are synchronized to create a cinematic flow from scene to scene, as we track Dorothy and company's journey through storybook images of woods, farmyards, and poppy fields, the steam-punk interior of Evillene's fortress, and the lavish lair of the Wizard–all in bright colors, contrasting with the stark opening depicting Dorothy's humble home in Kansas, lit to appear black and white. Sharen Davis's costumes also start off, in Kansas, seemingly black and white, with the black tornado dancing clouds resolving into the burst of color worn by everyone in Oz, suggesting the vibrance and excess of New Orleans.

During its run in New York, the revival received mixed reviews, with some critics deriding it as looking cheap. I can't say how the show looked in New York, but in Minneapolis, it looks like a million bucks (used as a figure of speech; I am aware that a million bucks doesn't begin to cover the cost of a Broadway production these days). Ruffin's changes to the book add humor and shake dated remnants out of the show, and the company couldn't be putting more heart and soul into their performances. It's a win by all counts.

The Wiz runs through December 21, 2025, at the Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please call 612-339-7007 or visit hennepinarts.org. For information on the tour, visit www.wizmusical.com.

Music and Lyrics: Charlie Small; Book: William F. Brown; Additional Material for this Production : Amber Ruffin; Director: Schele Williams; Choreography: JaQuel Knight; Scenic Design: Hannah Beachler; Costume Design: Sharen Davis; Lighting Design: Ryan J. O'Gara; Sound Design: Jon Weston; Video and Projection Design: Daniel Brodie; Hair and Wig Design: Charles G. LaPointe; Makeup Design: Kirk Cambridge Del-Pesche; Original Orchestrations: Harold Wheeler; Music Supervisor and Orchestrations: Joseph Joubert; Music Arrangements: Joseph Joubert and Allen René Louis; Vocal Arrangements: Allen René; Music Director: Victor Simonson; Dance Music Arrangements: Adam Blackstone and Terence Vaughn; Associate Director: Emily Madigan; Associate Choreographer: Ashley Seldon; Production Stage Manager: Jovan E. Shuck; Stage Manager: R.L. Campbell; Casting: The TRC Company/Olivia Paige West, CSA and Xavier Rubiano, CSA.

Cast: Maati Kheprimeni Angaza (ensemble), Sai Anthony (Emerald City Announcer/ensemble), Joseph Armon Boyd (ensemble), Aliyah Caldwell (swing), Dana Cimone (Dorothy), Robert Crenshaw (swing), Lawrence Dandridge (Guard/ensemble), Cyniah Elise (The Wiz's Backup Singer/Duke Low Underling/ensemble), Amitria Fanae (Addaperle/Guard/ensemble), Kaiyla Gross (swing), Gregory Hamilton (ensemble), Nadja Imara Hayes (swing), Maya Imani (ensemble), Kyla Jade (Aunt Em/Evillene), D. Jerome (Tinman), Jesse Jones (swing), Elijah Ahmad Lewis (Scarecrow), Micah Jeremiah Mims (Lord High Underling /ensemble), Alan Mingo Jr. (The Wiz), Cal Mitchell (Lion), Moriah Perry (ensemble), Leon Ray (ensemble), Khi'Shawn A'Quez Robinson (swing), Sheherazade (Glinda), Jonathan McClinton Smith (swing), Ephraim Takyi (swing), Lyn Webber (The Wiz's Backup Singer/ensemble), Kameron Whigham (ensemble), Mikayla White (swing), Chanse Williams (ensemble).