Rather than just get one big star, NBC is going all out for its live broadcast of The Wiz musical. The network announced last night that Oscar nominee Queen Latifah and nine-time Grammy winner Mary J. Blige will both take part.
Latifah will play the Wiz, the powerful wizard who rules over Everald City. Blige was cast as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.
Latifah was most recently seen in HBO’s Bessie Smith biopic Bessie, which earned her an Emmy nomination. She also earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in Chicago, which was executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Latifah also worked with the producers on Hairspray and Lifetime’s Steel Magnolias remake.
“We are so happy reuniting with Latifah,” the producing duo said. “We’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve had quite a lot of success together. To see her play the iconic role of the Wiz and make it her own is going to be one of the joys of producing this event.”
As for Blige, she recently tested her acting skills on Empire and black-ish. She also starred in Lifetime’s Betty and Coretta and Warner Bros.’ Rock of Ages.
NBC announced in March that The Wiz will be its third live musical broadcast, following The Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood and Peter Pan with Allison Williams.
The peacock also has the Wizard of Oz fever, since it is working on a limited series called Emerald City.
The Wiz Live! will air on Thursday, Dec. 3.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com