Producers of NBC's "The Wiz" revealed who will play Dorothy in their latest live musical offering!
Shanice Williams, a fresh-faced newcomer was chosen among hundreds of auditionees to play the iconic role of Dorothy, based on the children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum.
NBC's "The Wiz" revealed Williams as the new Dorothy in a recent announcement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Williams was chosen after the network conducted an open casting call for the role, looking for a "mature" and "youthful" female African-American between the ages 18 to 27.
During the casting call, auditionees had to sing "Ease on Down the Road," "Be A Lion" and "Home" - all songs from the original Broadway play, "The Wizard Of Oz."
18-year-old Shanice Williams hails from New Jersey, who showed immense talent and only five years of musical experience on her belt, Entertainment Weekly reported. Some of the productions that Williams had previously taken part of are "West Side Story," "Pippin" and "42nd Street," according to the website.
Now that NBC's "The Wiz" has found its Dorothy, pre-production for the live TV musical will be rolling - and rolling fast - in time for its premiere on Dec. 3 this year.
Williams will be acting (and singing!) alongside Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Latifah, whose musical resumé includes "Hairspray" and "Chicago," will be playing the role of the Wiz. Meanwhile, Grammy-award winning artist, Mary J. Blige, will portray Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.
They will be joined by Stephanie Mills, who also played as Dorothy in the original Broadway production. She will be portraying the role of Aunt Em in the live NBC production.
NBC's "The Wiz" will be directed by Tony Awardee, Kenny Leon alongside NBC's "Peter Pan" and "Sound of Music" Executive Producers, Neil Meron and Craig Sadan.
