“The Wiz”

]> PUBLIC "-//The New York Public Library//TEXT (US::NN::Sc MG 320::“The Wiz” Collection, 1974-1979)//ENG" "scmwizkh.xml" Inventory of “The Wiz” Collection, 1974-1979 Processed by Tamara Stewart; machine-readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services; revised by Terry Catapano. Encoding funded by the generous support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, April 1999. Description is in English October 16, 2006 EAD v1.0 finding aid converted to EAD 2002 using UC Berkeley's eadv1to2002.pl perl script. Inventory of “The Wiz” Collection, 1974-1979 Sc MG 320 Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The New York Public Library New York, New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. New York Public Library. 515 Malcolm X Boulevard New York, NY 10037-1801 (212) 491-2224 scmarbref@nypl.org http://nypl.org/research/sc/scm/marb.html Processed by: Tamara Stewart Date Completed: August 1995 Encoded By: Apex Data Services; Terry Catapano Encoding funded by the generous support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Descriptive Summary “The Wiz” Collection, 1974-1979 Sc MG 320 5 archival boxes (2 lin. ft. The New York Public Library Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture English Administrative Information Source

Gift of Mildred Harper.

SCM89-65.

Complementary Material

The Ken Harper Papers (4 lin. ft.) can be found in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library.

History

The Broadway musical smash hit “The Wiz” was an all African-American production based on the Frank Baum classic “The Wizard of Oz.” Produced by Ken Harper, the musical opened at Broadway's Majestic Theater on January 5, 1975, and finally closed after an incredible 1,666 performances, on January 28, 1979. “The Wiz” garnered seven Tony Awards, including “Best Musical” of 1975, and its original cast album was also a success. A number of talented individuals were associated with the original production, most notably Stephanie Mills who got her “big break” in “The Wiz” when she was only 15 years old.

It is interesting to note that “The Wiz” opened to mixed reviews, and attendance was lethargic during the first two weeks of performances. In fact, a closing notice was posted on its Broadway opening night as a result of the poor box office showing. Fortunately, Twentieth Century-Fox (the musical's backer) decided to put up additional funds, both to keep the show running, and to finance an intensive publicity campaign. While “The Wiz” was not the first Broadway show to use video commercials as part of its advertising strategy, its campaign was the most massive to date at that time. The television advertising, combined with enthusiastic word-of-mouth and black radio and press reviews, was extremely successful, and “The Wiz” went on to become one of the longest running Broadway musicals ever produced, grossing approximately $70 million in revenues.

The popularity of “The Wiz” created a worldwide demand for the musical, and numerous road productions were performed throughout the U.S., and abroad in Canada, England, and even Japan. Harper also produced a movie version of “The Wiz” in 1978 for Universal Pictures, which starred Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Lena Horne. At the time of its production, the movie had the distinction of being the most expensive movie produced to date. An original movie soundtrack was also recorded and released.

The collection was apparently gathered together by Ken Harper, and donated by Mildred Harper, his mother, after his death in 1988.

Scope and Content Note

“The Wiz” Collection documents various aspects of both the musical and the movie. There are two series; the first pertains to the Broadway musical, and the second, to the movie version. The materials in the collection span the period from 1974-1979.

Newspaper and magazine clippings constitute almost all of the material in both series, however, a few pieces of additional documentation is included in the form of play scripts, screenplays, playbills, “The Wiz Scrapbook” (from the movie version), and a Tony Award nomination certificate presented to Harper for “Best Musical- Producer,” 1974-75. Photographs, posters, drawings, film and tapes are also part of this collection, but have been transferred to the appropriate divisions within the Schomburg Center and can be accessed there (see Separation Record p. 6).

Series Description/Container List 1 “The Wiz” Play

The series contains an extensive amount of material about various aspects of the play. The Scripts subseries includes the first, third, and two different final drafts of the play. The Cast, Crew Members and Production Staff subseries is comprised of folders of magazine and newspaper clippings for various people associated with the play, including Dee Dee Bridgewater (who played Glenda the Good Witch), Andre De Shields (who played the title role), Geoffrey Holder (who designed the costumes and directed the play), and Stephanie Mills (who played Dorothy), and a separate folder for other personages, including Toto.

There are two subseries of reviews; one for the New York production, and the other for various road productions. The New York Production subseries is divided into opening night, print media, and radio and television reviews; the Road Productions subseries is divided into folders for California, Canada, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania production reviews, with separate folders for radio and television, and assorted other production locations.

The Play series also includes documentation for numerous other aspects of “The Wiz”: playbills; awards and nominations; anniversaries, records and statistics; Broadway production closing; advertising, promotion and marketing; performance schedules; production costs and investment capital; ticket sales and revenues; auditions and casting; and the original Broadway cast album, round out the categories of materials included in the play series. In addition, there is a folder containing information about the musicians' strike, which halted performances for 25 consecutive days in 1975, and a folder of Broadway and society column commentary regarding “The Wiz.”

Scripts “The Wiz” 1 1 First Draft, n.d. 1 2 Third Draft, June, 1974 1 3 Final Draft Blocking Script, September, 1975 1 4 Final Draft Blocking Script, July, 1976 Cast, Crew Members and Production Staff 1 5 Hinton Battle, 1975-1976 1 6 Dee Dee Bridgewater, 1975-1978 1 7 William Brown, 1975-1979 1 8 Andre De Shields, 1975-1979 1 9 George Faison, 1975-1978 1 10 Al Fann, 1975 1 11 Ken Harper, 1975-1979 1 12 Geoffrey Holder, 1975-1978 2 1 Sidney Lumet, 1976-1979 2 2 Stephanie Mills, 1974-1979 2 3 Ted Ross, 1975, n.d. 2 4 James Wigfall, 1975-1978 2 5 Others, 1975-1979 2 6 Auditions and Casting, 1975-1979 2 7 Advertising, Promotion and Marketing, 1975-1979 2 8 Performance Schedules, 1975-1978 2 9 Production Costs and Investment Capital, 1975-1978 2 10 Playbills, 1975-1978 3 New York Production Reviews 3 1 Opening Night (Jan. 5, 1975), 1975 3 2 Print Media, 1975-1979 3 3 Radio and Television, 1975-1977 Road Productions Reviews 3 4 California, 1975-1979 3 5 Canada, 1978 3 6 Illinois, 1976-1979 3 7 Massachusetts, 1979 3 8 Michigan, 1978 3 9 Pennsylvania, 1978 3 10 Radio and Television, 1976-1978 3 11 Assorted, 1978-1979 3 12 Printed Matter, 1978-1979 4 1 Ticket Sales and Revenues, 1975-1979 4 2 Awards and Nominations, 1975-1979 4 3 Anniversaries, Records and Statistics, 1976-1979 4 4 Broadway Production Closing (Jan. 28, 1979), 1978-79 4 5 Original Broadway Cast Album, 1975-1978 4 6 Musicians' Strike (Sept. 18 - Oct. 12, 1975), 1975 4 7 Broadway & Society Column Commentary, 1975-1979 4 8 General, 1975-1979

The General folder brings together newspaper, magazine, and newsletter articles that are about “The Wiz” or “The Wizard of Oz” in general (not reviews, however), or about an aspect of play production such as costuming, music, stage production, or photography, which discuss “The Wiz” within the article's context. A few letters of thanks for interviews, cast member appearances, and benefit performances, are also included. The General-References folder holds diverse clippings, articles and illustrations in which “The Wiz” or someone associated with the production is mentioned tangentially or in passing.

4 9 General - References, 1975-1979 5 “The Wiz” Movie

The series contains categories similar to those found in the play series, although there is a much smaller volume of material in the movie series. Scenes toward a screenplay, and the first, second, and third drafts of “The Wiz” are contained in the Screenplays subseries. The Cast Members subseries includes separate clippings folders for Lena Horne (who played Glenda the Good Witch), Michael Jackson (who played the Scarecrow), Diana Ross (who played Dorothy), and Nipsey Russell (who played the Tinman).

There is also material about the movie's October 24, 1978 premiere, reviews, advertising and promotion, production costs, ticket sales and revenues, the original motion picture soundtrack, and “The Wiz Scrapbook,” a souvenir journal which consists of pictures and written pieces about the cast and production. Lastly, a General folder holds both major write-ups and passing references about the movie itself, the history of “The Wizard of Oz,” costume designs, musicals-turned-movies, and other topics in which the movie or cast members are discussed.

Screenplays “The Wiz” 5 1 Scenes Toward a Screenplay, n.d. 5 2 First Draft, March 11, 1977 5 3 Second Draft, March 30, 1977 5 4 Third Draft, May 15, 1977 Cast Members 5 5 Lena Horne, 1978 5 6 Michael Jackson, 1978-1979 5 7 Diana Ross, 1978-1981 5 8 Nipsey Russell, 1978-1979 5 9 Movie Premiere (Loews Astor Plaza, Oct. 24, 1978), 1978-79 5 10 Reviews, 1978-1979 5 11 Advertising and Promotion, 1978-1979 5 12 Production Costs, 1978-1979 5 13 Ticket Sales and Revenues, 1978-1979 5 14 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1978 5 15 “The Wiz Scrapbook”, 1978 5 16 General, 1978-1979 Separation Record

The following items were removed from:

Name of Collection/Papers “The Wiz” Collection

Accession Number SCM89-65

Donor: Mrs. Mildred Harper (mother)

Date received: July 19, 1989

Date transferred: July 19, 1989

The item(s) listed below have been sent to the division indicated, either to be retained or disposed of there. Any items that should receive special disposition are clearly marked.

Schomburg Art and Artifacts Division:

1 poster - “The Wiz”; 6 posters - movie version of “The Wiz”;

2 watercolor illustrations of “The Wiz” cast; 1 drawing of Ken Harper by Lebo

Schomburg Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division:

3 cans of film (6 reels) “Positively Black”; 13 reel to reel tape recordings

Schomburg Photographs and Print Division:

3 boxes

Processed by: T. Stewart/D. Lachatanere

Date: August 8, 1995