Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige are the latest to join NBC?s live adaptation of the The Wiz, which will air Dec. 3.
EW has exclusively learned Latifah will play the titular Wiz, who holds the keys to the Emerald City, while Blige is set to play the Wicked Witch of the West.
Latifah?s musical past includes starring in 2002?s Chicago and 2007?s Hairspray, and Blige has nine Grammy awards under her belt. They?ll star in The Wiz alongside previously announced cast member Stephanie Mills, who?s playing Auntie Em.
The Wiz Live! is executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron?who also made NBC?s previously high-wire musical telecasts, 2013?s The Sound of Music Live! and last year?s Peter Pan Live! The Wiz Live! is directed by Kenny Leon with Harvey Fierstein providing new written material and also marks the first NBC musical to made with Cirque Du Soleil, whose acrobats will be used in certain scenes (such as the tornado and flying monkeys).
