The Wiz

This disappointing adaptation of "The Wiz" has none of the sparkle that made the all-black musical revamping of THE WIZARD OF OZ such a success on Broadway. Diana Ross is Dorothy, a Harlem schoolteacher, at her aunt's home for Thanksgiving. She walks out into a snowstorm and is magically whisked away to the Emerald City (Manhattan). The story follows the same lines as the original, with Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross playing Dorothy's comrades, the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion. Eventually, of course, the whole contingent finds the Wiz (Richard Pryor). Despite its marvelous personnel and terrific premise, THE WIZ is a bungled mess. Sidney Lumet's overb...