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NBC’s ‘The Wiz’ Finds Its Dorothy In Newcomer Shanice Williams

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 05:38 PST, Aug 5, 2015

It looks like NBC’s The Wiz has found the new Dorothy! Unknown actress Shanice Williams has been tapped to play the role of Dorothy in NBC’s live production of The Wiz.

According to E!, the network announced the exciting addition to the cast on Wednesday. Shanice beat out dozens of other actresses who tried out for the role of Dorothy.

As we know, The Wiz already has huge names in the supporting cast. Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah and David Alan Grier have all signed on to the production. As reported, Latifah will take on the role of the Wiz, Blige will take on Evillene, who is the Wicked Witch of the West, and Grier will play the Cowardly Lion. No word on who will play the Tinman or Scarecrow.

Shanice Williams stopped by the Today Show to make the big announcement. She told Today’s Carson Daly that the big news was finally sinking in. At the time, Williams said, “It’s really hitting me right now!”

For Williams, this will be her second time appearing in a production of The Wiz, but this time around, it will be on a much grander scale. “I was actually in it my eighth grade year, and my grandma’s like, ‘Why didn’t you ever do for Dorothy? I’m so mad.’ So here you go, grandma! This is for you!”

While she was on the Today show, Williams showed footage of a special call she made to her mother. On the tape, the teary-eyed young actress tells her mom that she was chosen for the biggest role of her life to date.

NBC’s last two live productions had big names in the lead. Their first stab at a live production was The Sound of Music, which featured Carrie Underwood as Maria. For its second production, they snagged Girls actress Alison Williams as Peter Pan. Going with an unknown might be their best decision yet.

In the 1978 film, Dorothy was played by Diana Ross; Nipsey Russell played the Tinman; Ted Ross played the Cowardly Lion, and Michael Jackson took on the role of the Scarecrow. It’s going to be interesting to see NBC reinvent The Wiz.

Here are some of the initial responses to the new Dorothy.

[Photo by NBC]

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