Latifah, who starred in the Oscar-winning film of "Chicago" and the screen return of "Hairspray," will star as The Wiz, with Blige to play Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. They join original Broadway star Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the original production, and will play Auntie Em in the TV adaptation.
An actress to play the role of Dorothy has not been announced.
Kenny Leon is directing, with Harvey Fierstein adapting the book for TV. The live broadcast is scheduled for Dec. 3. NBC reportedly wants to have the role cast by the end of the summer.
William F. Brown wrote the book for the soulful contemporary retelling of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." The Wiz also features music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The original 1974 production, directed by Geoffrey Holder and choreographed by George Faison, won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. The premiere Broadway company featured Hinton Battle, Tiger Haynes, Stephanie Mills, Ted Ross, Dee Dee Bridgewater, André De Shields and Mabel King. Diana Ross and Michael Jackson starred in the film version.
The musical, according to NBC, is described as such: "Dorothy, a young woman from Kansas, is swept up in a tornado and relocated to a fantasy world that is inhabited by munchkins, good and bad witches, and, of course, flying monkeys. She eventually takes a path down a yellow brick road to find a wizard who can help her go home and along the way meets a scarecrow, tin man and cowardly lion, who all learn to help one another."
The news was announced by co-producer Craig Zadan on Twitter:
BREAKING NEWS... QUEEN LATIFAH & MARY J. BLIGE SIGN ON FOR NBC'S THE WIZ LIVE! THEY WILL JOIN ORIGINAL STAGE DOROTHY, STEPHANIE MILLS.
— Craig Zadan (@craigzadan)
July 28, 2015