Many of the stars in The Wiz Live! have only one moment to shine in the show, but for every single one, it was worth the wait. How amazing was Uzo Aduba as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz Live! ? The Emmy-winning actress' performance of "If You Believe" at the end of the show was absolutely stunning. She delivered the message of the musical with ease and it was just the kind of encouragement Dorothy needed to go home a changed girl.
Most of us know Aduba from Orange is the New Black, where her character Suzanne's crippling stage fright keeps her from singing, which seems to especially be a shame after Thursday night's performance. Aduba has been on Broadway before, most notably in Godspell, and recently joined Taylor Swift on stage for a performance of "White Horses" during the star-stuffed 1989 tour. So, while many of us know by now that this actress has an incredible voice, it was still satisfying to see her have such a glamorous moment as Glinda in The Wiz Live. The role was played by Lena Horne in the 1978 movie, so these were big shoes to fill.
She may not travel by bubble, but that entrance was one of the best in the show. I'd like two Cirque Du Soleil dancers to descend from the ceiling with me everyday too, please. Why did we only see Glinda at the end of the show? The Wiz is actually more like L. Frank Baum's novel in structure than the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, in which Glinda appears at the beginning and end to guide Dorothy. This adaptation makes use of all four cardinal directions when it comes to the witches. Addaperle is the Witch of the North (she doesn't have a name in the original book), while Glinda is the Witch of the South.
Can't get enough of Uza Aduba singing after The Wiz Live!? Here she is taking on another famous showtune, "Simple Joys" from Pippin.
Image: Paul Gilmore/NBC
