( CNN ) NBC is upping its live musical game . The network on Monday announced that `` The Wiz '' will be its next live musical performance — with Cirque du Soleil boarding the project with plans to bring the show to Broadway in 2016 . NBC 's `` The Wiz , '' set for Thursday , Dec. 3 , will again be executive produced by Sound of Music and Peter Pan duo Craig Zadan and Neil Meron , with Tony-winning director Kenny Leon attached to direct both the live event as well as the Broadway revival in 2016-17 . Tony winner and Broadway icon Harvey Fierstein will contribute new material to the original book by William F. Brown and work alongside Zadan , Meron and Leon . Leon won a 2014 Tony Award for directing `` A Raisin in the Sun , '' and earned a nomination for `` Fences . '' Fierstein , as a writer , won Tonys for `` La Cage Aux Folles '' and `` Torch Song Trilogy . '' He 's also written books for musical hits including `` Kinky Boots '' and `` Newsies . '' As an actor , he 's won Tonys for best actor in a musical ( `` Hairspray '' ) and best actor in a play ( `` Torch Song '' ) . `` 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 , '' NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said . `` It 's a natural next step for our live musical events , and we 're so pleased to be in business with this award-winning creative team and Scott Zeiger , president and managing director of Cirque du Soleil 's new theatrical division . Cirque 's incredible imagination will help bring the fantasy world of Oz vividly to life and give this great show a modern spin on the age-old story we all love . '' Broadway musicals that have sung their way to the big screen . Zadan and Meron will reunite with Leon , with whom they worked on `` Steel Magnolias '' and `` A Raisin in the Sun . '' Universal Television will produce . Casting for both the NBC telecast and Cirque 's Broadway production will be announced at a later date . `` The Wiz '' is adapted from L. Frank Baum 's `` The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , '' with a book by Brown and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls . The production opened on Broadway in 1975 at the Majestic Theatre and won seven Tonys , including best musical . It ran for four years . TV ratings : 'Peter Pan Live ! ' falls from 'Sound of Music ' `` The Wiz '' is a retelling of `` Oz '' in an African-American/multicultural context . It was adapted as a film in 1978 starring Diana Ross , Michael Jackson , Lena Horne and Richard Pryor . It centers on Dorothy , a young woman from Kansas , who is swept up in a tornado and relocated to a fantasy world inhabited by munchkins , good and bad witches , and flying monkeys . She eventually takes a path down a yellow brick road to find a wizard who can help her go home . Along the way , she meets a scarecrow , tin man and cowardly lion , who all learn to help one another . NBC chief tackles Bill Cosby , live musicals and comedy woes . For NBC , `` The Wiz '' combines two of TV 's biggest trends : live programming and the growing appetite for diversity — both in terms of casting and programming that best reflect society today . It comes as networks continue to look to live programming like sporting events and awards shows in a bid to break through the clutter in a crowded DVR landscape . In terms of diversity , the success of Fox 's hip-hop drama `` Empire '' and other scripted entries including `` Black-ish '' as well as `` Fresh Off the Boat , '' `` Cristela , '' `` Scandal '' and `` How to Get Away With Murder '' have prompted a crush of diverse castings again this pilot season . `` The Wiz '' was one of two productions NBC had been eyeing ( alongside `` A Few Good Men '' and `` Music Man '' ) . Greenblatt confirmed in January that he had optioned both properties . ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter . All rights reserved .
NBC following up `` Sound of Music '' and `` Charlie Smalls with `` The Wiz '' in December . After airing on live TV , the musical will return to Broadway . `` The Wiz '' is a retelling of `` The Wizard of Oz '' in a multicultural context .