The Wiz has been widely regarded as the black version of the classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and has traditionally featured an all-black cast.
However, one high school’s production in Syracuse, New York did not cast any African-American students in the leading or supporting roles.
One parent, Letrice Titus, says she is concerned that the musical director along with school officials did not do enough to increase diversity for the production. Titus, who is African-American, says she was upset after finding out that her daughter, Kierrah, was given an ensemble role instead of one of the leads. Kierrah has since dropped out of the production.
The North Central Syracuse School District superintendent, Kim Dyce Faucette, said at the board meeting on Monday that she does not plan on cancelling the school’s musical production.
“Without a doubt, being an African-American woman, I can definitely relate,” Faucette told NBC/CBS affiliate CNY Central News. “Having said that, I’m not prepared at this point to pull the race card until I get all of the facts and can then make an informed decision.”
Titus told theGrio that in January she requested that the musical director Caryn Patterson at Cicero-North Syracuse High School (CNS) either recast the production to include more black students or choose a new musical entirely.
“They have black talented kids at the school, but they chose to put them at the ensemble because they’re not theater kids. They should have made a collaborative effort based on diversity, cultural awareness, [and] sensitivity. How are the black kids going to feel when they see a play?” Titus told theGrio in a phone interview.
The executive principal of the high school, Melissa Julian told Syracuse.com, only seven African-Americans tried out for the musical and none were selected as leading or supporting roles in the play. CNS high school has only 93 black students out of the total student body of 2,200.
The local NAACP chapter in Syracuse is also getting involved with this case. Preston Fagan, local NAACP chapter president, accompanied Titus to the board meeting Monday night where she protested the lack of black actors in the school’s cast.
“Why was the version of The Wiz picked over The Wizard of Oz if you have no intent to bring out the African-American culture as The Wiz was made out to be? ” Fagan asked theGrio in a phone interview. “How can a cast with no African-Americans portray the culture of the African-Americans?…All we’re saying is next time you pick a play, think the process through before you run it.”
The Wiz first opened on Broadway in 1975, winning seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, and is described as putting an urban black spin on Frank L. Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Source: The Grio
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