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In March NBC announced that it would follow up live productions of “The Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan” with “The Wiz”, set to air on December 3. And on Tuesday People revealed that Queen Latifah and Mary J Blige have officially joined the upcoming musical’s cast. The pair are the first big names announced so far in the highly-anticipated adaptation of the 1975 Broadway hit.

Queen Latifah (45) will star as the wizard, taking on the role played by Richard Pryor in the 1978 film version.

Of the gender-blind casting, executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron gushed: “To see (Queen Latifah) play the iconic role of the Wiz and make it her own is going to be one of the joys of producing this event.”

Meanwhile, Mary (44) will take on the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the production. Stephanie Mills, who portrayed Dorothy in the original Broadway cast, will also join NBC’s adaptation as Auntie Em. Dorothy, however, will be played by an unknown, with the network holding an open casting call for the role.

“The story of Dorothy has always been about someone new,” casting director Bernard Tesley said, adding: “It feels like the innocence of Dorothy should be a face that we don’t recognise and don’t know.”

Auditions began on June 6 in New York City. Cirque du Soleil is overseeing the show’s production, and following the December 3 telecast, it will present “The Wiz” as a Broadway revival for the 2016-17 season.

The TV production and Broadway revival will be staged by director Kenny Leon and Tony winner Harvey Fierstein.

Of the collaboration NBC Entertainment topper Bob Greenblatt gushed: “We love this yearly tradition and we’re more excited than ever to not only bring another Broadway musical to America’s living rooms, but also see it land on Broadway as well.” – dailymail.