EXCLUSIVE: Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss and husband/entrepreneur Todd Tucker have joined the producing for the Broadway-bound revival of The Wiz, Deadline has learned.
In a statement, Burruss and Tucker said, “We are thrilled to be part of The Wiz. The songs, choreography, costumes, everything about The Wiz is epic.
“We have always said we want to help open the doors of theatre to all people,” they continued. “Theatre has the power to influence and inspire people to create change through art, and that is what we all need now. Art can heal and art can change you. It has changed us. So, come on and ease on down the road with us.”
The Wiz will be the latest Broadway production credit for Burruss and Tucker, following the recent revival of The Piano Lesson and last season’s Thoughts of a Colored Man.
The revival of the Tony-winning William F. Brown-Charlie Smalls musical, with new additional material by Amber Ruffin, will launch a national tour on September 23 at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, the city where The Wiz made its world premiere in 1974. The revival will begin a limited engagement on Broadway in Spring 2024.
Casting will be announced later.
Burress and Tucker join the producing team of Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland and Ambassador Theatre Group.
Directing the revival will be Schele Williams (The Notebook, the revival of Disney’s Aida). The Wiz creative team also will include choreographer JaQuel Knight (Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” Black is King), Joseph Joubert (music supervision, orchestrations and music arrangements), and Allen René Louis (vocal arrangements, music arrangements).
The Wiz design team will include scenic design by Hannah Beachler (Black Panther, Beyonce’s Black is King and Lemonade), costume design by Sharen Davis (Ray, Dreamgirls), lighting design by Ryan J. O’Gara (Thoughts of a Colored Man), sound design by Jon Weston (Parade) and wig design by Mia Neal (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).
Based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the original production of The Wiz opened on Broadway in 1975 and ran for four years. The 1978 film adaptation starred Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne.
