Philly stages light up with modern classics from ‘Rent’ to ‘The Wiz’ – Metro Philadelphia

‘The Wiz’: Alan Mingo Jr. on reimagining a classic and showing up as his whole self - Philadelphia Gay News

Ensemble Arts Philly is bringing the iconic musical “The Wiz” to the Academy of Music June 3-15, 2025, marking the show’s first Broadway tour in more than 40 years. This twist on “The Wizard of Oz,” which features an all-Black cast, is set in Harlem and incorporates soul, gospel and rock songs. Alan Mingo Jr., who plays the titular Wiz in this production, spoke about the significance of this tour, particularly in the context of the play’s histor…

Philly stages light up with modern classics from ‘Rent’ to ‘The Wiz’ – Metro Philadelphia

It used to be that when you heard the phrase “Broadway classic,” it meant splashy productions from theater’s Golden Age and composers like Rogers & Hammerstein ('Carousel', 'Oklahoma!'), Cole Porter ('Kiss Me, Kate') Frank Loesser ('Guys and Dolls'), Irving Berlin, Jule Styne, Meredith Wilson and Noël Coward. Eventually, new classicists Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jerry Herman and Kander & Ebb jumped into that canon …