Cal Mitchell on being The Lion and the enduring impact of The Wiz

For over 50 years The Wiz has entertained audiences with its retelling of The Wizard of Oz through the lens of Black culture with an all Black cast. After two Broadway productions, an NBC Live Special, and a feature film that starred Diana Ross and Micheal Jackson, the show’s third national tour is gearing up to make its way to Chicago this Spring. 

I sat down with actor Cal Mitchell who plays The Lion in this production to talk about becoming his cowardly counterpart, his time on tour, and the enduring impact of The Wiz all these years later. Here is that conversation.

SOPHIA CASA: My first question is, The Wiz has been around, I guess, over 50 years now. There’s a lot of casts that come with that, a lot of history. So how does it feel to now be putting your stamp on that? 

CAL MITCHELL: It’s one of those things that I try to wake up every morning and realize, like, it’s such an opportunity and gift and a humbling thing to be able to say, like, I am the next bearer of this really important role in this really important show. It does mean so much to me, and sometimes, like, it’s a little hard to see it. But then my personal thing is, like, I have to understand, like, it’s such a humbling experience to be a part of this because in the next 20 years, they’re going to be looking at this 50th anniversary and who was here and who played these characters, and they’re going to see me.

CASA: I know that you actually started as an understudy on this tour, and you’re now The Lion now. Can you talk to me a little bit about the process of getting there and that journey of starting as the understudy for this role before shifting into this role full time?

MITCHELL: Absolutely. I think starting in the ensemble really, really grounded me with this show because it’s my first national tour. So obviously, I came in excited, but also, like, really, really nervous, not really knowing what to expect from it. To play Lion now, to receive that promotion was a little bit, like, mind-boggling to me at the time. But when we were transitioning into me becoming full-time Lion, it really did dawn on me, like, oh, wow, this is a lot more than I had anticipated.

But I also am a person that loves to challenge. It’s a little crazy to still look back and be like, I joined this show to be ensemble and to dance with all of my friends. And then, you know, life took a very big turn.

CASA: Yeah, but for the better, it seems. 

MITCHELL: Absolutely. Yeah.

CASA: And so this role is vibrant, but also, you know, it is at its core The Cowardly Lion. What is it like to play this role? 

MITCHELL: I’ve said this so many times, me and Lion sit in, like, the same space. He’s just, like, on 10, where I may sit at, like, a very cute 7, as far as, like, energy-wise.

Prepping to play him is, I like to be around people. If I’m around people, I’m able to be my most authentic self. And I think that that is one of the main tenets of this character. Lion is authentically himself. He just feels as if there’s something lacking or something missing that he feels that someone has to give him. He doesn’t understand that the thing that he’s looking for, this courage, this confidence, it’s always been in him. He gives that throughout the show before he even realizes that he always had it. 

CASA: I know the tour’s been going on for some time, but is there anywhere that’s coming up that you’re really excited to visit? 

MITCHELL: There’s two cities, Washington D.C. and Chicago. I can’t wait. I’m so excited. I have never had the ability or, like, the opportunity to sit in Chicago and, like, really, like, walk around the city and get a feel for what it is. Like, usually I’m either, like, A, passing through, or B, I’m visiting, like, family, friends, and I’m only there for, like, maybe a day.

So I don’t really get to see Chicago. We’re going to be there for, like, a week, though. So I’m like, I have to go outside.

CASA: Oh my gosh, well, I’m so excited for you to get the chance to come here. So The Wiz sort of stands out as this show interpreting the Wizard of Oz as this story that’s often told by usually white actors, usually white creatives, but interpreting it this time with Black actors and a distinctly Black lens. You know, 50 years ago, it made an impact, but it’s still making waves today. Can you talk a little bit about that? 

MITCHELL: The Wiz, when it first came out, was seen as something super-duper radical because at that time, it was really radical to see an all-Black cast being happy and telling the story of the Wizard of Oz from the perspective of Black culture, Black people. I think that same radicalization, it’s still here. I realized this year while doing the show, there’s an entire generation of Black kids that have never seen The Wiz, and that was, like, a bit shocking to me and a bit shocking to everybody else in the cast. Like, we all grew up watching The Wiz. Like, it was either you watched it during Thanksgiving or you watched it during Christmas. It was one of the two.

It’s imperative that Black kids come in and see the show, especially because the story is timeless, and because it’s coming from our perspective, it’s timeless for those kids to see it. What we’ve also realized is everyone loves The Wiz. Everybody.

While, yes, it may be like, oh my God, “ease on down, ease on down the road”, and it’s happy and it’s joyous and it’s a story that you already know, but you still fall in love with when you come and see it. It’s important for everyone to come in and just, like, take a breath, and whatever’s happening outside of the theater does not matter for two hours. Come laugh. Come have fun. Come yell if you want to, by all means. Like, it’s so important for everyone to have that type of, like, release of hope, and, you know, everything’s going to be all right just as long as you know that you are in control of your story and you can ease on down the road, too.

CASA: Well, Cal, I am so thrilled that you are a part of this. Thank you so much for talking with me today. 

MITCHELL: Thank you for having me.

The Wiz runs March 31st through April 5th at the James M. Nederlander Theatre

For WNUR News, I’m Sophia Casa