Ease On Down The Road - The Wiz Sheet Music

A wonder copy of the first edition of Ease on Down the Road from the Broadway play THE WIZ. Rare. None listed in OCLC.
Composer Charlie Smalls
Lyrics: Charlie Smalls
Type: Sheet Music
Edition: 1st
Publisher: Fox Fanfare
Dated: 1975
Cover: Decorated/Artist Unknown
Dimensions: Standard
Notes & Literature: The Wiz - The idea for the musical originated with producer Ken Harper. He replaced the original director, Gilbert Moses, with Geoffrey Holder in Detroit during out-of-town tryouts.

The original Baltimore cast included Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, Stu Gilliam as the Scarecrow, Tiger Haynes as the Tin Man, Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion, and Butterfly McQueen as the Queen of the Field Mice, but in a much smaller role. Renee C. Harris stayed on as understudy for the role of Dorothy, as did McQueen for the role of Addaperle.

The production was choreographed by George Faison, with scenic designer Tom H. John, costumes by Geoffrey Holder, lighting by Tharon Musser, and orchestrations by Harold Wheeler. Faison and Holder both won Tony Awards for choreography and costume design, respectively in 1975.

The show had a pre-Broadway tryout at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia from December 11, 1974, through December 21, 1974. After drawing mixed critical reviews, producer Ken Harper considered closing the musical after its Broadway opening night. One source attributes its turnaround success to a publicity campaign that included a TV commercial featuring the cast singing "Ease On Down the Road," a song that proved so popular that it was released as a single recorded by the disco group Consumer Rapport; The single hit the Billboard Soul Singles chart, peaking at #19 and the Hot 100, peaking at #42.

William F. Brown, who wrote the book, gave a more specific explanation in 1993: "20th Century-Fox, the musical's major investor, put in another $100,000 to keep it going and everyone agreed to royalty cuts until the production's cost—about $1.1 million—was recouped....By the eighth week, we were selling out."
Condition Report Very good plus
Subject References: Broadway plays. Classics. 20th century American masterpieces of music. Americana.