THE Wiz at Charter Oak Cultural Center

THE WIZ is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of OZ in the context of African American Culture. It opened on October 21, 1974. The 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The Director of this production, a well-known poet, playwright and actor, is a native of Hartford, CT. Darlene “Peaches” Brandon is most known locally as the former host of the Monday night “Love Jones Experience” of which she retired from to pursue directing under her company MaPeach Productions.

The Musical Director of this production, Charmagne Tripp, is both a lyricist and vocalist. Her recent success as the featured vocalist on the highly anticipated album from Rap Superstar, Eminem has exposed her to audiences internationally. Charmagne wrote and sang the lyrics to the hook on “We Made You”, the first single released from the album “Relapse” produced by Dr.Dre and Doc Ish which topped charts worldwide and has won a Grammy for Best Rap album. She began her career dazzling audiences with her rendition of “The National Anthem” performed at professional competitions throughout the country. She performed at Sean “P Diddy” Combs’ 3rd Annual All-Star Festival in Cancun, Mexico. She has also featured with live Jazz and R&B bands at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Casinos and various Music festivals. She has opened for recording artists Brian McKnight, Deborah Cox & Roy Ayers.

This star-studded performance includes some of the most powerful entertainers in our local artistic community. The all-star line up includes: Grammy Award Winner, Charmagne Tripp, Marquis “Qwes” Johnson, Famecia Ward, Colin Ivan Osborn, Crystal Senter Brown, Allison McMeans, Patrick Comoas and Sharece Sellem. The production is choreographed by Sharece Sellem and Jus Hues.



Read more: http://hartford.broadwayworld.com/regional/The-Wiz-35933#ixzz22RJaG7cd
Ages: Ages 5 and up