#ted ross

Lion and Dorothy are so dear to me I love them so much. The "Be a Lion" song where she was singing to him and comforting him made me so happy

Also I fw the dynamic that scarecrow and tinman have with being the only two none living members of the group having to save Lion, Toto and Dorothy from the Poppies.

The scarecrow is so adorable and I love how he's always pulling pieces of paper out of himself and reading quotes. So sweet.

Also I love the details that each costume has. It's all so well put together and made.

10/10

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(p.s. I'm thinking that after I design human Sophie, I should have her play Dorothy in the same The Wiz Play Buster is in.)

I think what makes it sweeter is that I think they're related?? Both actors have the last name Ross. Diana and Ted Ross. They might be siblings or cousins that's my assumption.

I feel like The Wiz handles the source material better than the 1939 film in so many ways because the 1939 film has more focus on glamorizing the lore. The Wiz ACTUALLY explains that The Cowardly Lion USED to be LITERALLY king in the society of animals. Like there's an entire society of animals with social commentary that the film just completely ignores. The 39' film makes it look like Lion just decided he should be king just because, again beautiful film but it doesn't do the lore justice. It makes The Lion look egotistical and expects a place of power for fucking nothing. The entire point of The Lion is that he was once great but lost his place in society because he was too much of a coward. It's so important but the 39 film doesn't seem to think so (and to reiterate I LOVE the 39 film!!! But it's deeply flawed)

Another thing I praise The Wiz for is how The Lion acts. During Be A Lion Dorothy hugs Lion's head into her lap as he even licks his paw. This could easily go into uncanny territory like Cats the Musical (no hate though that's my favorite but I'm aware it's uncanny.) But it never feels uncanny, the acting makes it look natural and feline. It's honestly amazing.

I am so fucking obsessed with Micheal Jackson's portrayal of the Scarecrow. Because one APPARENTLY THAT WAS HIS FIRST CINEMATIC ACTING ROLE????? Holy shit he became famous for a reason huh. And the choice to cast him as the Scarecrow is a GENIUS decision. He was an exceptional dancer and great at acting with his body. When you watch Scarecrow move it looks like a clumsy man made of paper clippings and trash. And Michael Jackson is so fucking meticulous with his performances, every single thing is planned out. Every slide and turn is intentional. Which makes it so fucking impressive how naturally clumsy Scarecrow looks, because it's 100% intentional. And if you compare it to the way Scarecrow stumbles in the 39' film it looks shockingly similar to the point I'm convinced MJ studied the film for this role.

I am so obsessed with You Can't Win because it's a excellent social commentary on black oppression and less opportunities for black people in general makes things harder on their quality of life. There's probably someone with the black experience that can explain why the song is so impactful.

I ALSO love the song because it's actually referencing the source material once again!!!!! In Scarecrow's introduction in the OG book we're told that when one wise crow realized Scarecrow wasn't a real man he told the other crows and they all started bullying him. The wise crow tells scarecrow his life isn't worth living without a brain and talks down to him. This is what made The Scarecrow the way he is. You Can't Win summarizes Scarecrow's origins PERFECTLY while connecting it to black expierences.

I love that they gave Dorothy her original silver slippers they look absolutely GORGEOUS on Diana Ross. I think Lion's costume looks beautiful. I love that Tin Man is black coded by making his metal a differnt color tint and giving him hair with texture. Also I think his little heart hole is ADORABLE. Tinman's design is so fun.

i just felt like they all -lion especially was laying it on strong- wanted and adored her . and she loved the three of them dearly in return.