Just as I did last year after working on Peter Pan Live!, I’m here to spill details about being part of The Wiz Live! for NBC. It’s one of the best projects I’ve been involved with, and I am so proud of it.

Rehearsals began two months before the live broadcast. We spent one month working in Manhattan (October), and then moved out to TV studios in Long Island for the second month (November).

I started in late September to prep the first round of script binders for rehearsal — here they are in all their glory:

Ready for a full read-through on the first day of rehearsal:

I also prepped these mailboxes for the cast and crew — it’s how I delivered script revisions each night. Everyone was good about checking them when they arrived in the morning.

Myself and other PAs had the glamorous task of keeping our small crafty area well-stocked with snacks.

I don’t have many photos from inside the rehearsal room, but one of our esteemed executive producers Neil Meron did a fabulous job documenting the process on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, so I’m sharing several of his images throughout this post… like this one of director Kenny Leon leading rehearsal:

And these two photos, of our directing team (Kenny and his associates Kamilah and Ioana), and writer Harvey Fierstein addressing the company:

While there was one primary rehearsal room, we also had access to two smaller rooms on another floor to practice music and dance — we often used them all simultaneously to maximize rehearsal time with the cast:

Another moment from Neil’s Twitter feed:

During our run-through for the network, we had a special guest — Carmen de Lavallade, wife of Geoffrey Holder, the Broadway director of The Wiz, who passed away last year. She spoke to the company about what this show meant to the black community back in 1975, and how this cast now has the honor of delivering its message to new audiences today — exactly 40 years later.

On a lighter note, I would be remiss not to mention Brooklyn Fare, the upscale grocery store across the street from our rehearsal space.

Most of our company ate lunch here daily — there’s an incredible selection of healthy and delicious sides to pick from. Here’s a colorful meal I snapped a photo of before digging in:

And then before we knew it, October came to a close and it was time to head out to Long Island. Hicksville… to be exact.

Every day we donned wrist bans given out by security upon arrival.

Here’s a look down a main hallway in the enormous, sprawling space at Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York — it was once an airplane hanger and now it’s perfectly suited as a film and television studio. Please note the thorough signage expertly hung by our Production Office:

And speaking of signage, these line the bathroom stalls… I love the sense of humor:

Now let me tell you about my awesome co-workers, Adam and Sabrina — they are really my supervisors, but they are great about making us feel like one big team:

Adam is the Production Supervisor, which means that (among many tasks) he is responsible for the daily schedule and show rundown — two very important documents looked at daily by hundreds of people to guide each department. He also tracks the timing of the show and facilitates things like commercial times and act breaks with our executives and the network. During the week leading up to the live broadcast, his role shifted to an Associate Director position as he counted everyone in and out of commercials and cued certain effects while being on the phone with the network as they rolled commercials. Lots of responsibility, which Adam executes smoothly and efficiently.

Sabrina is the Script Supervisor, which means that she watches over all things script. She pays close attention to rehearsal and coordinates line changes with the ADs, as well as other changes in music cues, props, special effects, and more. Under Sabrina’s careful watch, the script document is entirely accurate down to every letter. Each night she publishes a packet of the daily changes, which go out electronically as well as paper copies (into that cast & crew mailbox I shared earlier in this post) so that everyone is literally on the same page during rehearsals.

I am the Script Associate, which means I handle the physical work of copying and distributing all paperwork published by our department. On a daily basis those documents include the schedule and script revision packets, and on a weekly basis I deliver updated long rundowns, quickie rundowns, cast list, staff list, and more. I maintain a Distro List of all cast and crew, and monitor everyone’s scattered start dates to ensure that they have a script binder on their first day. And other general things like running script pages out to set when needed.

Below is our lovely windowless office. It’s actually a great space; we are about 100 feet removed from the main action near the stages and Production Office, so it’s quieter and we have a monitor to watch everything happening on stage. That small office within our office is technically for Harvey Fierstein, but he worked from NYC throughout the project aside from a few set visits for run-throughs. It would have been fun to have him in here with us!

Neil Meron posted this photo to Twitter on the day we began camera blocking rehearsals:

Since this year’s project took place on a proscenium stage rather than a more traditional TV set (like Peter Pan Live and Sound of Music Live), it was an ideal set-up for our crew — each department had a table facing the stage to comfortably sit with laptops, scripts, etc. during rehearsals.

We were not supposed to take photos during rehearsals, as our producers understandably didn’t want details of the sets and costumes to be posted on social media prior to the live show. So I snapped just a few during the whole month and saved them until now.

I love the rolling fog in the above shot, spilling over the cameramen as Shanice and David rehearse “Be a Lion.”

Each day we ate lunch together in a giant dining hall. The catering company we used is outstanding — the food was terrific in variety and quality every single day. In addition to the main meal (plenty of veggie dishes plus chicken, beef, and fish) they also often had a station for freshly made grilled cheese or burgers or chili or homemade soup. Plus every day there was a sprawling salad bar and dessert table, so we were kept very well-fed, and perhaps left this project a few pounds heavier than we started it. I did my best to resist the dessert table most days, although the time they brought out an ice cream sundae bar with warm waffles I was like… that’s not fair.

And in between meals we could always pop into crafty for bagels, fruit, nuts, chips, popcorn, cookies, and — my favorite — chocolate-covered pretzels. There’s also a coffee station with multiple Keurig machines; each afternoon our script team would decide it was “Chai Time” and prepare cups of delicious tea with just a touch of french vanilla creamer.

Also worth mentioning in the food department: these Emerald City and Yellow Brick Road mini cupcakes made by Baked by Melissa. And the night we had a build-your-own Chipotle station for dinner was my favorite — below is the burrito bowl of my dreams. No such thing as too much guac!

Since our department was often at the studios until late at night (at least 9pm, and once until 3am) we stayed at a nearby Marriott Residence Inn most of the time. It was a very comfortable home-away-from-home during our long days at Grumman.

And the week before the show, the hotel even added a swath of Yellow Brick Road next to their Christmas tree display. How thoughtful!

In fact, even more thoughtful was this plate of freshly baked cookies they left in our rooms the week of the show, decorated with Wizard of Oz confetti shaped like the characters:

Approaching the live broadcast, here are some final behind-the-scenes shots of our sets and costumes:

Production designer Derek McLane and costume designer Paul Tazewell are in many ways responsible for the look of our show — the sets and wardrobe immediately take viewers into the world of Oz and establish the feel of each location: Kansas, Munchkinland, Emerald City, the poppy fields, and Evillene’s factory.

The most eye-popping costume is worn by Glinda (played by the incomparable Uzo Aduba) — it’s magnificent to behold, both on screen and in person; there are fiber optics glowing from head to toe. Queen Latifah’s ornate green robe as The Wiz is also gorgeously constructed:

Here’s the chariot that Mary J. Blige rides onto set as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West:

Since there are so many technical people involved, a platform of desks and monitors overlooks the stage. This is where the LED screens producer and operators sit, as well as our music department and one of the lead stage managers.

We used an entire second studio as the hair / make-up area and green room. Neil Meron shared these photos on Twitter, one of the empty space and another during the bustling mid-day hours:

Our make-up and prosthetic teams were especially outstanding — here are more shots that Neil shared on Twitter of our leads getting into character:

These next photos were also taken by Neil — check out the wig shelves for Munchkins and Emerald City citizens. You can clearly see how the color palette is defined for each location:

One week before the show, NBC aired an hour-long special called The Making of The Wiz Live — a camera team followed our cast and crew behind-the-scenes to share exactly what goes into a large scale production of this nature. It’s really neat to see all that they included, even going back several months to when the show held open auditions to cast an unknown actress in the role of Dorothy. There are also interviews with the design teams, director Kenny Leon and TV director Matthew Diamond, choreographer Fatima Robinson, and the cast.

Guess what? During The Making of The Wiz Live!, I made a one-second appearance in the deep background of a shot. That’s me in the teal shirt sitting behind our directors:

The following morning our cast and stage managers gathered bright and early for a performance on Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was fun to watch them at home from the comfort of my cozy PJs, and share the excitement of our impending production with my family members as they got a preview of what we’ve been working on.

But right after Thanksgiving we all headed back to Grumman Studios since the show was less than a week away.

Kudos to our script department for pushing through some very late nights — we were often there until 2am, as our dress rehearsals started later and later each night to pace for an 8pm start time the evening of the live show. That meant that network notes did not come in until the wee hours of the morning, at which point the following day’s schedule and call times could firm up for distribution.

We got through it with the help of Dunkin’ Donuts.

And suddenly the day we’ve been talking about for eight weeks — December 3rd — was upon us. Time to rehearse just a few final things and then prepare for the live show.

Approximately 40 minutes before the broadcast, our whole company gathered in the green room stage for a pep talk from our leaders.

First, NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt spoke about how proud he is of this show and everyone involved (above photo). Then our director Kenny Leon led us in a rousing prayer of gratitude for the work we’ve gotten to do and the opportunity to show it to America (below).

And then everyone went to their respective areas for the live show… here is a photo Neil tweeted from the truck just minutes before the broadcast began:

Meanwhile, Sabrina and I retired to our quiet script office to watch the broadcast. I still had to finish packing boxes and taking supply inventory since I would technically be done with this job at 11pm when the show ended.

So on commercial breaks I wrapped up those loose ends… and of course checked Twitter / Facebook for reactions.

And guess what? Right away, we could tell the show was being well-received by the audience. Do you recall how the last two years during Sound of Music and Peter Pan, everyone was hate watching and tweeting negative things about each production? Well this year it was all love watching! Before the live show even began, influencers like Oprah and Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington expressed how excited they were for this. And by the first commercial break, very positive tweets were rolling in from viewers. This trend followed each act as Sabrina and I logged on and called out funny and meaningful tweets to each other. People were rallying around the show, championing its songs, choreography, actors, sets, and costumes:

I dug Anna Kendrick’s tweets throughout the evening:

But the best part of tracking #TheWizLive on social media was watching the African American community respond to this show. The Wiz Live! unabashedly celebrates black culture — during a 3-hour primetime block on network television, with a budget in the tens of millions — to tell a classic story while representing an all-too-often underrepresented part of our population at a time when we really need it. #BlackExcellence was on full display, and 11+ million people tuned in to watch. The following are screen grabs from my own Facebook feed, with names blurred for privacy:

That photo of the little black girl watching at home, transfixed by the beauty of Uzo Aduba preaching “Believe in Yourself” makes me tear up.

I came across several articles which echoed these sentiments the following day:

And I have to give a shout out to our Emerald City citizens and vogue dancers who are responsible for executing one of the most impressive scenes of the night, as choreographed by the innovative Fatima Robinson.

And last but not least, here are our names in the credits. I pulled this from a dress rehearsal since the background video of Mary J. Blige is fun (during the live telecast our particular credits ran over a shot of rehearsal footage).

And with the actual show over, there’s only one thing left to do… PARTY IN OZ!

On our way out to the studio for the wrap party, we passed Uzo Aduba still in full costume as Glinda. She very kindly posed for a photo with us, even though she probably wanted to get out of her dress by that point. (Or maybe she didn’t want to take it off — it is, like, the dress of all dresses.)

This is my co-worker Broadway (coolest name ever, or coolest name ever?) from our cast department — she is a rockstar:

A bar serving champagne was set up at the back of the stage, and side tables overflowed with fancy wraps (appropriate for a wrap party, right?) and desserts like cheesecake pops.

Throughout the party, the locations from our show (Kansas, Emerald City, Munchkinland) flashed on the LED screens around us.

Here’s a quick video of the action:

Our DJ and friends:

The script team celebrates a job well done!

Here we are with legendary theatrical animal trainer Bill Berloni and the two pups who played Toto (Ralphie and Scooter) — yes, even Toto has an understudy! Bill found these rescue dogs only about six months ago; he got word they needed a home and thought they might be a good fit for this production. Bill has a dog farm in Connecticut where they will happily live out their days after this production… unless they transfer to The Wiz when it hits Broadway next season? Ralphie and Scooter may have been bitten by the acting bug.

Here are Adam and Sabrina with two crucial members of the production team — senior production manager Rebecca and cast manager Carrie.

Hey look, it’s the Wiz head:

Here we are with Natasha Yvette Williams, understudy for The Wiz and Glinda. She is a phenomenal singer and we were lucky to watch her fill in for the leads during part of our rehearsal period. If Queen Latifah or Uzo Aduba are too busy with other projects when The Wiz comes to Broadway next year, then audiences would be fortunate to catch this talented women in either role:

Here we are with puppeteer Paul who was half of the team that operated the Wiz’s mouth and eyes, and stage manager Jeff:

And here is David Alan Grier, our Cowardly Lion, who is easily one of the funniest human beings I’ve ever met. He is always effortlessly ON.

We couldn’t miss out on a photo with the lovely Shanice Williams, who plays Dorothy, and her Totos. The night before the live show, these dogs stayed with her at the hotel. Check out this photo — isn’t that adorable? Precious pups aside, I am thrilled that the world has officially been introduced to Shanice. She is sure to be a bright talent on stage and screen for decades to come. I’m calling it now — future Tony winner right here.

This is Matthew Diamond, the TV director. He is responsible for capturing The Wiz Live! on video for the television audience at home, and he planned the entire show shot by shot to give you the best angles at each moment. Matthew is also a very kind human being who could not have been more welcoming to the entire company from Day 1.

Behind every good director is a good associate director, and that is Rae, who happens to be Matthew’s wife. Together they make a great team as they direct broadcasts of concerts, Lincoln Center plays, and other multi and single cam shows. Rae is just as sweet and welcoming as Matthew, but with an incredible sense of style to boot. I admired her wardrobe on a daily basis.

And last but certainly not least, here we are with director Kenny Leon, who is responsible for many major shows on Broadway and beyond. I first became aware of his work on the 2004 production of A Raisin in the Sun starring Phylicia Rashad, P. Diddy, Audra McDonald, and Sanaa Lathan — one weekend during college, my friend and I got into the city VERY early to stand in line for $20 front row rush tickets, and we were so moved by the show. I’ve long held Kenny in high esteem and it was an honor to work with him on The Wiz.

A view from the upper level looking down on our wrap party:

Shortly after 1am we packed up our bags to head back to the hotel. As Adam noted, this was our earliest wrap time the whole week! We were all ready to crash.

The next morning we drove back to the city, both elated with how well the show had gone and a little disappointed that the experience was now behind us. News of the overnight ratings (11+ million people) as well as positive notices from the New York Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, etc. are all a good sign that NBC will stick with this annual live musical event for at least another year. And then SNL did a funny Wiz Live spoof this past weekend.

I think I’ve run out of things to tell you. So I’ll sign off by stating how grateful I am to be part of The Wiz Live! — it’s a solid group of people from top to bottom. I could not be more proud of our final product. I think that 50 years from now, people will still reference this production as both a stand-out live TV musical and a classic interpretation of The Wiz.

The bar has been raised. I look forward to following where TV musicals (both live and non-live) go from here.