The wicked witch sang it best: “Don’t nobody bring me no bad news.”
Welp.
I shant. And instead, I come bearing….riffs-gladly presenting to you just who will be singing that very same song and assuming that very same role: The Queen of Hip Hop Soul Mary J. Blige!
As you may well know, the greatly anticipated NBC television adaptation of the 1975 Broadway hit The Wiz will be coming to NBC on Thursday, December 3, 2015!
It was just recently revealed that R&B singer and original Broadway cast member (Dorothy played by Stephanie Mills) 
will switch roles this time around and take over as Auntie Em-Dorothy’s Aunt. (Diana Ross played “Dorothy” in the movie/film version).
Queen Latifah just signed on to play the [for the first time-the gender-bending role] of “The Wiz” (originally played by the late Richard Pryor). Executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron states “To see [Queen Latifah] play the iconic role of the Wiz and make it her own is going to be one of the joys of producing this event.”
The role of “Dorothy” in this iconic show is such that it can afford to let a new face shine as the lead character. In June, it was announced that NBC would be holding and opening casting call for one lucky unknown actress to click her heels and take center stage to rock! Auditions began June 6 where hundreds of hopefuls showed up.
“The story of Dorothy has always been about someone new,” casting director Bernard Tesley told our friends at People. “It feels like the innocence of Dorothy should be a face that we don’t recognize and don’t know.”
