The Wiz Live Is Almost Here: Just How Nervous Are the Stars?

Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah and more talk about going live for millions while social media watches

By Chris Harnick Dec 01, 2015 7:15 PMTags
Watch: "The Wiz" Cast Talks Nerves Leading Up to Live Show

The Wiz, NBC's third live musical event, features an all-star cast including Queen Latifah and Uzo Aduba, but even they're not immune to nervousness.

"I hope that I'm not throwing up and boo booing on myself," Elijah Kelley, the Scarecrow in The Wiz, told E! News. "Because I know I'm going to be nervous."

However, Mary J. Blige does not have time to be nervous when those cameras are rolling and the live performance is beamed into the homes of millions of families.

"It's live, so I can't even think about being nervous," Blige told E! News during a visit to Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. "I have to deliver. So, nerves? I have to brush that off."

NBC

NBC's previous musicals, The Sound of Music and Peter Pan, generated tons of buzz on Twitter, but not necessarily for the right reasons. The stars are well aware of this.

"You know how friendly social media is, they waiting," Ne-Yo, the Tin-Man, told us. "Black Twitter! It's coming!" David Alan Grier, the Cowardly Lion in The Wiz, added.

"This is a group of people, we take that pressure and let it be fuel," Ne-Yo said.

Along with the nerves, there's obvious excitement, and for some, disbelief (in a good way). Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the Broadway production of The Wiz, is back in the magical world once again, but this time as Auntie Em. "It's a surreal moment because I was 17-years-old in 1975, so 40 years later, who knew? Who knew that this would even be a thought? So for them to bring the Yellow Brick Road into 2015-2016 is just amazing."

The Wiz Live airs Thursday, 8 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)