Original Dorothy, Stephanie Mills, was just 17 when she opened The Wiz on Broadway. Stephanie Mills rose to prominence when she created the role of Dorothy in The Wiz; the character's finale ballad "Home" remains her signature tune. Surprisingly, she was just 17 when the show opened in January 1975.
How old was Stephanie Mills when she starred in The Wiz?
Baum's classic book-turned-film The Wizard of Oz. The 1939 movie adaptation starred Judy Garland as Dorothy. At the time she made her Broadway debut in 1974, Mills was 17. (For her part, Bailey is not much older, at 23.)
What year did Stephanie Mills play Dorothy in The Wiz?
The Wiz is an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz but influenced by contemporary African-American culture. Mills originated the role of Dorothy in the 1974 musical and seemingly received backlash for playing the role that was popularized by Judy Garland in the 1939 live-action film.
Who was originally supposed to play Dorothy in The Wiz?
Gordy originally wanted the teenaged future R&B singer Stephanie Mills, who had originated the role on Broadway, to be cast as Dorothy. When Motown star Diana Ross asked Gordy if she could be cast as Dorothy, he declined, saying that Ross—then 33 years old—was too old for the role.
Original director John Badham stepped down when he objected to 33-year-old Diana Ross being cast as a teenage Dorothy. The character was changed to a 24-year-old kindergarten teacher, but by then Sidney Lumet had already replaced Badham.
Stephanie Mills on Playing Dorothy in OG 'The Wiz', Why Diana Ross Was Cast for the Film (Part 1)
Did Diana Ross have a baby at 70?
Just so we are all on the same page, 71-year-old singer and icon Diana Ross is not pregnant. Not even a little bit. Rumours starting flying on social media that the singer might be defying science by having a child in her 70s after a photo appeared of her on Instagram with a rounded stomach.
Stephanie Mills *was* in serious consideration to reprise her Broadway role. This was when it was a lower budgeted production that was being produced by Motown Productions. Miss Ross got wind of it and she contacted Berry Gordy, who told her she was too old for the part.
quicklist:title: The Startext: Garland was not MGM's first choice for Dorothy. Shirley Temple, then a big star, was. But she was under contract for a competing studio, which refused to loan her out.
Casting. Several actresses were reportedly considered for the part of Dorothy, including Shirley Temple from 20th Century Fox, at the time, the most prominent child star; Deanna Durbin, a relative newcomer, with a recognised operatic voice; and Judy Garland, the most experienced of the three.
BET shared a previous interview with V103 where Mills confessed that she and Jackson dated. “I loved Michael,” she said. “I thought that I was going to be Mrs. Michael Jackson, but I was ready at 20 and 21 to get married and he was not even close to getting married or having a girlfriend at the time, but yes we dated.
In the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was played by Judy Garland, who received an Academy Juvenile Award for her performance. Since she was sixteen years old at the time of filming, Garland's maturing figure was bound into a figure-hiding corset.
In 1938, when Garland was sixteen, she was cast as the young Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939), a film based on the 1900 children's book by L. Frank Baum.
Her first marriage was with singer-songwriter Jeffrey Daniel. He is the founder member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. The duo got married in 1980, and they officially separated in 1983.
At the very least, the same is true with “The Wiz.” The original Broadway cast starred R&B legend Stephanie Mills as Dorothy. In the movie. produced by Motown Records, Mills was replaced by Miss Diana Ross.
Stephanie Mills (pictured in 2017) played Dorothy in the original 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz. The 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-Black cast.
Who did Dorothy miss the most in The Wizard of Oz?
Dorothy says to the Scarecrow, I'll miss you most of all. But fortunately for you, I never get sick of talking about it. So let's do it again. In the early drafts of the Wizard of Oz script, there was an innocent romance between Dorothy and Honk, the counterpart of the Scarecrow in Kansas.
from Chapter 23 - Glinda The Good Witch Grants Dorothy's Wish. Glinda the Good stepped down from her ruby throne to give the little girl a good-bye kiss, and Dorothy thanked her for all the kindness she had shown to her friends and herself.
The Good Witch of the North can't tell her how to do that, but she does give Dorothy a kiss of magical protection and a pair of silver shoes and sound advice. Then she sends Dorothy to ask the Wizard of Oz, who lives in the Emerald City, for directions home.
Dorothy became pregnant during a one-night stand in a Chevy with Stanley at a drive-in movie that senior prom night. It was... well, unplanned and unexpected.
Dorothy first came to Oz as a young girl. Her adventures were recounted in The Wizard of Oz. As an adult, Dorothy married her cousin, Zeb, and eventually had two children, Dot and Neddie.
Roger Edens, MGM composer and Garland's mentor, dubiously made an appointment to hear Shirley Temple sing on the Twentieth Century-Fox lot. He returned to Metro to report that Temple lacked the robust vocal chops required for the extravaganza being prepared, and the part of Dorothy remained Judy Garland's, as intended.
THE WIZ was filmed at Astoria Studios and on location throughout New York City, including the base of the World Trade Center, where the Emerald City sequences were performed, and the Astor Place subway station. Other scenes took place at Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium and Coney Island.
