‘The Wiz’ is making a North American tour stop in San Jose

Wonderful ‘Wiz’

The North American tour of “The Wiz” is easing on down the road to the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts Jan. 27-Feb. 1, courtesy of Broadway San Jose.

“The Wiz,” an all-Black musical based on L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” premiered on Broadway in 1975 and ran for four years and 1,672 performances. The show won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score (Charlie Smalls and others), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Ted Ross), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Dee Dee Bridgewater), Best Choreography (George Faison) and in a Broadway first, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Costume Design (Geoffrey Holder).

A 1978 film adaptation starred Diana Ross as Dorothy and marked Quincy Jones’ first collaboration with Michael Jackson. The most recent Broadway revival played from March to August 2024 at the Marquis Theater.

Tickets for the San Jose tour stop are available at broadwaysanjose.com, 408-792-4111 or at the San Jose Civic Box Office, 150 W. San Carlos St.

MLK Day tree planting

More than 150 community members, students and local leaders participated in Our City Forest’s annual MLK Day of Service on Jan. 19 at Rainbow Park in San Jose.

Volunteers helped with tree planting, mulching weeding, and park beautification efforts focused on improving green access in an underserved neighborhood.

Speakers at the event included San Jose City Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, whose office helped fund the tree planting in her district.

“For more than 30 years, Our City Forest has honored MLK Day by bringing people together to take action,” said Rhonda Berry, founding president and CEO of Our City Forest. “Seeing students, families, volunteers and community leaders working side by side reminds us that climate resilience is about people rolling up their sleeves and showing up for one another.”