So You Wanted to Meet the Cast? Stephanie Mills Weighs in on Shanice Williams: 'She's Going to Be a Superstar'

We are another day closer to NBC's highly-anticipated musical special, THE WIZ LIVE!, which airs Thursday, December 3, at 8PM/7c. The production will star newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy alongside Grammy and Golden Globe-winner Queen Latifah as the Wizard, nine-time Grammy-winner Mary J. Blige as Evillene, original Dorothy, Stephanie Mills, as Auntie Em and David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion.

THE WIZ LIVE! is adapted from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum, with a book by William F. Brown, and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The production opened on Broadway in 1975 at the Majestic Theatre, starring Mills. It won seven Tonys, including best musical.

BroadwayWorld was on set earlier this month as the company was readying for the big night and we checked in with Stephenie Mills and Amber Riley (who play Auntie Em and Addaperle respectively) to find out how rehearsals have been going so far. Check out the full interview below!

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What drew you to the role?

A: It was kind of an automatic thing. It was like, "Okay, they're doing The Wiz; how do I get in the room? Who do we need to talk to?" I've been working on it for a while. I really wanted to be a part of something that I so iconic. I asked to do it, and I found out Stephanie Mills was going to be in it, and I was like "I get to work with Stephanie Mills. This is amazing!"

Stephanie, you've come full circle. What is it like for you working on this?

S: It's wonderful. It's wonderful to have been asked to do it. I'm so pleased to be celebrating The Wiz in such a big way. I'm so happy that millions of people are going to hear the wonderful score that Charlie Smalls wrote. I'm really happy.

Is it surreal?

S: It's surreal. It's emotional. The first day of rehearsal, I boo [cried] the first time I heard Shanice sing 'Home.' I was like, "Oh my God!"

A: We all did.

Of all the work you've done in your career, is this the most unexpected one?

S: This is very unexpected. I did what I did 40 years ago, and then revivals in '84 and '92. I thought that was it. I recorded 'Home' so people wouldn't forget.

What was the coolest, most modern thing you saw for this version of the show?

S: Cirque du Soleil is involved. Shancie is younger and darker than I was. And I love that Harvey Fierstein adapted from the original and was very respectful.

A: It is so special to me and was so special to my mom. Now my niece is going to get to watch it and it can be special to her seeing her aunt in it. It's an amazing show. Even though the words have changed, the theme is the same. It's all about finding your place. It's a coming of age story, but it's also about finding your place in your heart and what home is to you. I think everybody can kind of relate to that.

S: It's about family and love. Everyone needs courage. Everyone sometimes feels they may not be smart enough. I think it's a story that relates in every scenario of life. You're looking for something out there, and the whole time it's right in front of you.

Have you given Shanice any advice?

S: No, she's got this. She's going to be a superstar. I give her love. She comes to me and asks me, "How did you do it?" then I tell her. For the most part, I tell her the eleven o'clock number is every number.

What are the special challenges of doing something that is not quite theatre but not quite TV?

A: I think the challenging part when we were rehearsing it was we were in a smaller room. Then you get on the big stage, and there are cameras. The difficulty is marrying the two: the technique and the feeling.

Stephanie you open the show!

S: Yeah, I open the show! Kenny [Leon] was telling us, "You guys can't cry during the show!" Me and Shanice would be crying singing that song; It's touching.

Do you have any rituals?

A: I did Dancing with the Stars live, and that was my first experience doing TV live. I was terrified. I didn't realize it was live till the moment before the music started. Whatever happens now, it just happens; there's nothing I can do about it. Having that little bit of experience, I've learned to just be in the moment. I don't have the nervousness because that comes from fear, and we are prepared. It's going to be like second nature.

What was your first experience with The Wiz?

A: I remember trying to do the 'Ease on Down the Road' dance. I don't even know how old I was, but I watched the movie so many times that I couldn't even count.

Stephanie, getting cast the first time around in the show, do you remember?

S: I didn't want to go in and audition because the audition process is traumatic. I don't like it. My mom made me go. I had three auditions, and then finally, they told me. At the first audition, I was in tears. I thought I did well, but I didn't think I'd get the part.

This must be a great homage to all the people who created this the first time around.

S: Absolutely. I could walk around crying all day.

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Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("The Sound of Music Live!," "Peter Pan Live!") serve as executive producers. Tony winner Kenny Leon will direct with Harvey Fiersteinproviding new written material. Fatima Robinson serves as choreographer. THE WIZ LIVE! is produced by Universal Television in association with Cirque Du Soleil Theatrical.

THE WIZ tells the classic story hundreds of millions of people have read in the L. Frank Baum books and then saw in the much-beloved 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," but retold in an African-American/multicultural context. Dorothy, a young woman from Kansas, is swept up in a tornado and relocated to a fantasy world that is inhabited by munchkins, good and bad witches, and, of course, flying monkeys. She eventually takes a path down a yellow brick road to find a wizard who can help her go home and along the way meets a scarecrow, tin man and cowardly lion, who all learn to help one another.

Photo Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBC