Today In Black History : The Wiz

On this date in 1975 The Wiz opened on Broadway. The show would go on to become the longest running black musical on Broadway with 1,672 shows. The original 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical starred Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, Hinton Battle as Scarecrow, Tiger Haynes as the Tin Woodman, Ted Ross as Lion, Dee Dee Bridgewater as Glinda, André DeShields as the Wiz and Mabel King as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West and Clarice Taylor as Addaperle, the good witch of the North.