'The Wiz' to Lead Bounce TV Launch

By: Aug. 24, 2011
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THE WIZ, which debuted on Broadway in 1975, won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and was produced in 1978 by Motown/Universal as a film starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, and Richard Pryor.

After celebrating the demise of the Wicked Witch of the East with the Munchkins, THE WIZ follows Dorothy as her and Toto "ease on down" the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. Along the way she encounters a hip Scarecrow, an uptight Tin Man and a mama's-boy Lion. Together they seek help from the powerful Wizard, who turns out to be a phony. Dorothy's adventures in the Land of Oz have been set in a dazzling, lively mixture of rock, gospel and soul music.

The film version will kick off Bounce TV's new set of programming, according to Deadline.com. It will be followed by "the Sidney Poitier starrer A Raisin in the Sun at 3 PM and Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing at 8. Other highlights during Bounce's first week include Lee's School Daze (Sept. 27), a CIAA conference college football game pitting Bowie St. and Virginia Union (Sept. 28), and films The Siege (Sept. 29) and The Rundown (Sept. 30). The full schedule will be released Sept. 1," reports the site.

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