Annotated score for “Ease on Down the Road”
Lobby card for the original Broadway production of The Wiz
Ken Harper (ca. 1939–1988)
Promotional chapbook for The Wiz
Ink and marker on paper, ca. 1972
Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
Promotional chapbook for The Wiz
In the early 1970s, Ken Harper was a director at a New York City radio station; though inexperienced in producing theater, he quit his job to devote himself to realizing his dream of an all-Black version of The Wizard of Oz. His hand-drawn booklet, which he created to entice investors, begins: “What would you do if somebody came up to you and said, ‘Psst! Wanna hear an idea that’ll make ten million buck$?’”
20th Century Fox Television financed The Wiz in exchange for the film rights, which Harper was able to buy back after the show’s successful first year. The Wiz went on to become one of the longer running musicals in Broadway history and grossed approximately $70 million.
: Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Art…
Currently on View at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
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