Dee Dee Bridgewater On 'The Wiz,' Then And Now

Before it was an NBC special or a cult classic film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, “The Wiz” was a surprise hit on Broadway back in the 1970s.

Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater earned a Tony for her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in that production. She talks with Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson about what that project was like and what “The Wiz” means to her today.

Interview Highlights

On the risk producers took to put on the original show

“There was a big push by producer Ken Harper to bring in the African-American communities, and they would bring in busloads of people from different church groups and people from different African-American organizations, and I believe it was word of mouth that got us going and helped us to stay on Broadway for the length hat it did.”

What attracted to you to the show?

“I had never done actual Broadway theater before, it was my first turn. I was a big follower as a girl of the Ziegfeld Follies, I just loved the production numbers with the men carrying the damsel down the stairs and all of that. Actually, in the production I was escorted down the stairs by the beautiful men from the Land of Oz and lifted in the air and carried while I sang the first song, and after I told Dorothy how to get home I sang that song ‘If You Believe.'”

On the cultural impact of ‘The Wiz’

“We had never had any kind of film about African-American people, where the whole show was with African-American performers, dancers, the costumes. Of course Lena Horn got my role of Glenda the Good Witch but I have to bow down to Lena Horn because, for me, she was one of the forebears in the music industry that made it possible for people such as myself and Diana Ross to have the careers we have. To see images of ourselves on a television screen, I have no words to say. Even doing it on Broadway, I still run into people today that say they came to see ‘The Wiz’ and how it changed their lives. The story of Dorothy, and wanting to get back home, having to go through the fears she did, it's a universal fear that can relate to everyone.”

Does it make sense that ‘The Wiz’ should be the third live musical broadcast on NBC?

“It absolutely makes sense, I laud them for making ‘The Wiz’ the third. I think it comes at a crucial time for everything that is going on in the United States and in our society. My grandchildren are going to watch it. It's going to be beautiful to have this kind of vehicle for African-American people to see, as well as for everyone, because this is a story that has a global message to it, so I think it's going to be great.”

Guest

• Dee Dee Bridgewater, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and Tony Award-winning stage actress. She tweets @ddbprods.

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