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Power of Women Host Amber Ruffin on ‘The Wiz’ Shaping Her ‘Weird’ Brand of Comedy
Amber Ruffin, Variety's Power of Women host this year, shares how "The Wiz" shaped her brand of comedy.
“I had not seen Black female performances that weren’t a stereotype and honestly, it was a while until it became regular.” Luckily, there were two movies on regular rotation in her home: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “ The Wiz.” And the latter was the big-screen adaptation of the revolutionary 1974 Broadway musical, a retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” with an all-Black cast and bumping tunes that blended rock, gospel and soul. So it makes sense that when producers were looking for someone to update William F. Brown’s book for the musical, they turned to Ruffin, a writer on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” since the show’s beginning known for her appearances in segments like “Amber Says What?” and “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell.” After a long journey — Ruffin started the project in 2008 — “The Wiz” revival opened on Broadway this month at the Marquis Theatre, with Wayne Brady in the title role.
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