No 8. “Ease on Down the Road”

THE WIZ (1975). By Charlie Smalls (music and lyrics) and William F. Brown (book). Based On The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Summer 1975. You’re seated for the original Broadway production of The Wiz. When it opened earlier in the year, you thought you’d sit this one out—who needs another The Wizard of Oz when the Judy Garland version is perfect? It starts out simply enough, with Dorothy at Aunt Em and Uncle Henry’s farm. They speak about 20 lines before Em sings a gospel ballad. Then the twister comes, but it’s represented by a group of dancers with amazing costumes that stretch out the length of the entire stage to whisk Dorothy off to Oz. From then, every costume you see is more imaginative than the last. Dorothy ventures out to meet the Wiz, following the Yellow Brick Road (represented by a quartet of dancers that literally point the way). Each time she meets a new traveling companion (the scarecrow, tin man, and cowardly lion), she convinces them to join her on the journey, and they sing the travel song ”Ease On Down the Road.” It serves the same purpose “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” did in the MGM movie, but with a disco-funk feel.

Broadway was a kinda weird place in the early 1970s. Sondheim-Prince were doing incredible innovative shows, but they weren’t really crowd pleasing hits. In fact, New York City itself wasn’t really pleasing all that many crowds, and most Broadway offerings weren’t enough to inspiring tourism all by themselves. However, musicals with all-Black casts (oftentimes, but not always, from black creators) were thriving, with multiple new predominantly black musicals every season. The Wiz came into town battered by a pre-Broadway tour that saw the director fired and replaced by the costume designer, and it opened with its closing notice already posted. But a last minute cast infusion from 20th Century Fox, an aggressive television advertising campaign (something that had only been done once before), and enthusiastic word-of-mouth turned The Wiz’s fortunes around. “Ease on Down the Road” proved to be the perfect calling card—the second you hear it you understand exactly how the show will filter the classic Oz tale through a modern urban lens. The Wiz was the exciting, energetic, and broadly appealing show needed to remind audiences that Broadway was relevant and fun. The Wiz proved that both black excellence and imaginative family-friendly fantasy had a place on Broadway. Oddly, the latter part of this legacy has proved much more enduring—it’s hard to imagine Cats, Disney, or any number of childhood-favorite-reboots happening on Broadway had The Wiz not been such a massive success. Meanwhile, black—led musicals opened less frequently in the 1980s and beyond.

Recommended Recording: ”Ease on Down the Road,” The Wiz (Original 1975 Broadway Cast)

The Original Broadway Cast Recording (OBCR) is the best introduction to the song (and score). From its funky opening bass riff, the track perfectly preserves the heart and energy of the show. The quartet of actors includes the stunning 18-year-old Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, along with Hinton Battle, Tiger Haynes, and Ted Ross. Unfortunately, inexplicably, and inexcusably, the OBCR has become a bit of a rarity. You can buy the album on iTunes, but the CD is out of print, and it’s not on any of the music streaming services. But tracking down material that isn’t easily available is one of the primary skills required of a Broadway fan. (A skill made significantly easier by YouTube, which remains a Wild Wild West of copyright law.)

Alternate Performances

The Wiz received ~9 cast recordings and two screen adaptations. Frank Floyd, a pit singing in the original Broadway cast, led a disco group called Consumer Rapport that recorded a disco version of “Ease on Down the Road,” that became a number one dance hit. “Ease..” appears in a movie called The Marc Pease Experience—in which Jason Schwartzan can’t get over his high school production of The Wiz—and Razorback, an 80’s horror movie about a wild boar. Both Mickey Mouse and the Veggies Tales have recorded covers of “Ease…” on respective albums of Travel Songs.

• 1978 Film: Sidney Lumet directed The Wiz for film, with a screenplay by Joel Shumaker. It envisions Oz as a sort of post-apocalypse NYC, and is visually stunning. It also makes lot of deranged choices and somehow ends up shockingly boring. It flopped and perhaps did long-lasting damage to the show’s legacy, though it has its defenders today. If you listen to the soundtrack, you’d think it was a smash hit. Diana Ross leads an all-star cast as an adult Dorothy with a young Michael Jackson as Scarecrow and the great Quincy Jones produced all the music.

• The Wiz Live! (2015): During the heyday of Live(!) TV musicals in the 2010s, NBC presentedThe Wiz Live!, advertising it as a television event that would lead to a Broadway revival. Kenny Leon directed with Harvey Fierstein adapting the book for television. It was better received than the 1978 film, but most things are, and the Broadway production was never spoken of again.

• 2024 Broadway Revival: After many “Broadway aimed” productions that went nowhere, The Wiz finally returned to the Big Apple in 2024. Schele Williams directed with a great new book by Amber Ruffin. When the pre-Broadway tour came to Cleveland, everyone I know saw and loved it, even if the physical production didn’t come anywhere near the imagination and distinction of the original designs. By the time it opened on Broadway, the production had already announced it would be a limited summer engagement before going back on tour. Reviews praised Ruffin’s improvements to the libretto and the phenomenal cast, but took the production to task for being using Broadway as a tour stop (and for the design elements). Nichelle Lewis’s Dorothy should have been lauded as a major Broadway debut, and future generations will listen to the cast recording and demand to know why it wasn’t.

Is it Covered by The Rat Pack, Audra McDonald, or Glee?

• Audra McDonald played Dorothy in a 1987 production of The Wiz in Fresno, California. Can you even imagine just casually seeing that? While she has not recorded “Ease on Down the Road,” she has performed Dorothy’s final ballad, “Home,” in concert, including it as the encore for her 2024 special Audra McDonald at the London Palladium.

• Glee: “Ease on Down the Road” has not appeared on Glee, but Kristen Chenoweth (as character April Rhodes) sings “Home” on season 1 episode 16 (aptly titled “Home”). Matthew “Mr. Schuster” Morrison includes “Ease on Down the Road” on his album Where It all Began.

In the Wings

While you wait for song No. 9 to drop next week, check out this moving essay by original Wiz Andre DeShields about his experience with this show. Or check out this vintage Playbill article about how The Wiz went from flop to hit.