Tony Award-winning musical ‘The Wiz’ returns to national stage with Seattle stop
Feb 12, 2026, 2:01 PM | Updated: 2:11 pm
The Emerald City is getting a soulful makeover as the Tony Award-winning musical “The Wiz” plays at the Paramount Theatre this week, marking the show’s first national tour in four decades.
The production brings a distinctly Black perspective to the beloved Wizard of Oz story, featuring funk and soul music that transformed Broadway when the show first premiered in 1975. For Alan Mingo Jr., who plays ‘The Wiz,’ the timing couldn’t be more meaningful.
“For me, The Wiz means a lot to me, because when I saw it as a child, I think that’s when I realized I wanted to do this,” Mingo told “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio.
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The show arrives during Black History Month, adding significance to a production that has long held cultural importance for African American audiences and performers.
“The Wiz” reimagines L. Frank Baum’s classic tale through a Black lens, replacing the traditional Kansas farmland aesthetic with urban sensibilities and swapping orchestral arrangements for gospel, soul, and R&B-infused numbers. The original Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and was adapted into a 1978 film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
“Normally, the Wiz will come in at the end of the first act,” Mingo explained. “Here, we wanted the audience to anticipate seeing Oz like the characters are anticipating seeing Oz. So we put the Wizard of Oz in the second act.”
The result, Mingo said with a laugh, is that audiences reach intermission eager to finally meet the man behind the curtain — and it allows him to arrive at the theater a bit later than his castmates.
“The Wiz” runs at the Paramount Theatre through February 15. Tickets are available through the Paramount box office, Ticketmaster’s website, or the Seattle Theatre Group’s website.
Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here.
