Sunday, June 21, 2026

Flopcast 737: Ease On Down to Chickentown

Our series of Wizard of Oz adaptation reviews brings us to 1978's The Wiz, an ambitious reimagining with an all-star all-Black cast led by the great Diana Ross. Also featuring: Richard Pryor, Lena Horne, Nipsey Russell, Mabel King, graffiti Munchkins, crow monsters, poppy girls, and way more long slow musical numbers than anyone really wanted. (Seriously, they could have cut the running time in half with no complaints.) Can Emerald City survive the disco era? Perhaps. Just barely.

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Show Notes

Dorothy and company follow the Yellow Brick Road into the subway, where they are either about to confront The Warriors or some evil trash barrels.

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Quincy Jones gets a cameo when the Emerald City turns gold...

And Iman can be seen briefly in this blessedly short clip.

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The very thorough Oz Fandom Wiki will facilitate comparison of the plot of the original stage production to that of the film. You can even read the entire script of the former, which Felicity plans to do.