Book by William F. Brown, Music and Lyrics by Charlie Smalls

From the story "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum

A beloved Broadway gem, The Wiz infuses L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with a dazzling mix of rock, gospel and soul music. This timeless tale of Dorothy’s adventures through the Land of Oz is a fun, family-friendly, modern musical. The Wiz originally opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on January 5, 1974. Directed by Geoffrey Holder, the production starred necomer Stephanie Mills and featured Hinton Battle, Tiger Haynes, Ted Ross, Dee Dee Bridgewater, André De Shields and Mabel King. Shortly after its opening, the show moved to the Broadway Theatre, where it ran until January 28, 1979, boasting a grand total of 1,672 performances. On May 24, 1984, The Wiz returned to Broadway for a brief revival at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. A film adaptation, starring Diana Ross as Dorothy, premiered on October 24, 1978. On December 3, 2015, NBC presented The Wiz Live!, a live television adaptation of the stage musical starring Shanice Williams as Dorothy.

THE WIZ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com

The Thespian motto, which comes from Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" is  "Act well your part, there all the honor lies."  This truly exemplifies the spirit of our Thespian Troupe.

Thespian Troupe 721 is a charter member of the International Thespian Society, the only organization to honor secondary school students for outstanding work in theatre. ITS is a branch of the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), a theatrical honor society for high school students.  It has troupes in more than 3,900 North American schools and has inducted more than two million members since its inception in 1929.  Through their excellent work in theatre, Thespian candidates have earned the right to become lifetime members of this prestigious organization.

The International Thespian Society is named for Thespis, the ancient Greek who, according to legend, was the first to step out from the chorus and speak alone, thus becoming the first actor.  The Society’s guiding principle is a dedication to excellence and honors those students who uphold a high standard of work in educational theatre.

Troupe 721 started in 1946. We currently have over 35 active Thespians, but 60 or more students will work on productions at a given time. However, "once a Thespian, always a Thespian"; we have a long legacy of Thespians who are members for life.  Some come back to  help with workshops, come see the shows, help with design/construction, etc.  We run two shows a year: a fall drama and a spring musical.

Prior to COVID, we have participated in what was originally called the Helen Hayes High School Awards program, but is now The Metropolitan High School Theater Awards. The Metros include schools from Bergen, Rockland, Westchester, and Orange counties. Over the years, we have been nominated numerous times and have collected many awards.