Detroit ACE Office joins Fisher Theatre to present ACE Family Night for the legendary Broadway hit "The Wiz"

The City of Detroit Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) is joining the Fisher Theatre to present ACE Family Night at the Fisher to see the legendary Broadway Show “The Wiz.”

Discount tickets are available for the June 24, 7:30 p.m. performance of the ground-breaking show and pre-show activities for children and families.

“The Wiz” is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) in the context of contemporary African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974, at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, stopped at the Fisher Theatre in November & December that year, and moved to Broadway's Majestic Theatre with a new cast on January 5, 1975. The 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with all-Black casts. The show spawned a big-budget film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and a live television production on NBC.

Director of Detroit ACE, Rochelle Riley, encourages people to attend the show on June 17 for a big opening night, but to come out for the June 24 special performance, which also will feature pre-show activities for kids and families!  Pre-show activities start at 6 p.m. and include games & prizes with WDVD, craft making for kids with Arts N Scraps, Free ice cream samples from Treat Dreams and a Pre-Show Q&A with cast members in the Fisher Building Lobby!

“The show comes as Broadway, and theatre itself, continues to embrace a wide variety of brilliant shows with great cultural significance and casts and creators of color,” said Riley. “More African American performers, directors, writers and musicians are working on Broadway and in theatre than ever before. And that is a are marvelous thing for future stars and for theatre lovers. Theatre lovers like me hope that my fellow Detroiters across the state support theatre to show that it is a vital part of our lives, and like movies and concerts, bring us joy.” 

About Detroit ACE  The Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) partners with organizations across the region to enhance and grow investment in fine and performing arts, culture and history with a special focus on artistic entrepreneurship and support for Detroit’s creative workforce. Follow ACE @detroitcityarts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  

About the Fisher Theatre The Fisher, housed in one of Detroit and Michigan’s most iconic buildings, is one of Detroit's oldest live theatre venues. Owned & Operated by ATG Entertainment, it features traveling productions of Broadway shows. Some of Broadway’s greatest shows – and greatest stars – got their start at the Fisher. When Diahann Carroll became the first African American woman to win a Tony for lead actress in a musical, it was for a role she perfected in “No Strings” on stage at the Fisher Theatre.