LUMBERTON — Purple Door Productions will be taking a modern, family friendly spin on “The Wiz,” a Tony Award-winning musical that also served as a modern spin on the film classic “The Wizard of Oz.”
“The Wiz” is a retelling of Frank Baum’s beloved “The Wizard of Oz” that is set in the 20th century. An instant classic when Michael Jackson and Diana Ross brought it to the big screen,“The Wiz” reached a new generation with a cast that included Queen Latifah, Ne-Yo and Common.
Now “The Wiz Jr.,” which will show Thursday through March 1 at the Robeson Community College A.D. Lewis Auditorium, creates a more diverse, family adaptation of the hit Broadway musical.
“The musical really resonated when it came out,” Purple Door Productions Artistic Director Jeanne Koonce said. “It stood the test of time.”
“The Wiz” is most known for being one of the first Broadway musicals with an all-black cast. For this reason, it was appropriate to headline “The Wiz Jr.” for Black History Month, Koonce said. The musical will be a celebration of African-American culture with the Broadway musical that propelled African-American funk and pop into mainstream music culture.
“It used the music of the culture,” Koonce said. “It allowed funk, soul and disco to become mainstream on Broadway.”
“The Wiz Jr.,” will pay homage to the musical set in the 70s with music and costumes, but the story line is 2020, Koonce said.
“We’re bringing the psychedelic colors to 2020,” she said. “It harkens back to the 70s but I’m playing it like it’s happening right now.”
The musical follows Dorothy as she desperately tries to find her way back home with the help of characters she finds along the way. Set in the modern, trending world of smart phones, high fashion, streaming media and virtual reality, Dorothy struggles for a meeting with The Wizard.
The audience can expect the language and technology to be current, and like Baum’s original story, it will address the social issues in the United States. An example of this is the character Evillene, which will played by Rebekah Revels Lowry.
“Our Evelline is dressed to the nines in a business power suit,” Koonce said. “She represents big corporate.”
The Wizard is portrayed as an all-knowing, Bill Gates-type figure, Koonce said.
“They come to realize that he’s just a projection,” she said.
The cast will include Kirk Blue, Lance Carter, Matthew R. Jacobs, Jackie Johnson-Hill, Alannah McMillan, Christian L. McArthur, Chadon R. Foreman, T.J. Swindell, Julie Sawyer, Abner Locklear, Olivia Blue, Campbell Cox, Hayden Cunningham, Alaina Kemp, Iris Quinn, Anna Swayne, Mary Stephens, Kaila Franklin, Maritza Perez-Carter and Jennifer Sell.
The score of the musical is driven by funk, pop and gospel, and is geared to have audience members dancing in their seats.
Koonce said a crowd favorite, “Ease on Down the Road,” will be in the lineup of music. Her goal is for the audience is to “put on your boogie shoes, come down, have a great time and party with this great soul musical.”
Regular performances for the two-hour show are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. The Friday show will include a grand-opening night dinner party starting at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and disco dancing included.
Tickets are on sale at a discount price of $12 for adults and $8 for seniors, students and RCC staff. Tickets can be purchased at the RCC Foundation Office or by calling Purple Door Production at 910-224-4000. Online tickets are available at www.purpledoorarts.com/tickets. Follow Purple Door Production on Facebook and Instagram for information and a special behind-the-scenes view of “The Wiz Jr.”
‘The Wiz Jr.” is a joint production of Purple Door Productions and the Robeson Community College Foundation, supporting the scholarship work of the Foundation.
This musical is sponsored by Lumbee Guaranty Bank and through grants from Robeson County Arts Council and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural and Natural Resources.
