LIFE: You've got to be seen green...

I always associate November with my favorite childhood movie “The Wiz” because, for some reason, the television networks always seem to play it in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. It was actually the first movie I ever saw in a theater; my mom took me when I was two-years-old and during the scene when the wicked witch melted on her throne, I thought she was being flushed down the toilet. And when Michael Jackson sang in front of those scarecrows, I felt a toddler-version of a crush. And when the dancers in gold lamé leggings danced around the traffic light in Oz to Richard Pryor’s dictums of what’s in and out during the “Gold is Bold” montage, I developed an early love for hot pants and high heels. Considering how young I was, it’s odd that I remember the experience so strongly. Needless to say, I never get tired of watching it.

So I was extra psyched while out dancing one night when the DJ played a house song that began with the horn section from the “Gold is Bold” montage (see the scene here ). I tried to reenact the choreography on the dance floor and started skipping a little too hard, but no matter, “The Wiz” seems to be having a real pop culture moment right now. Because a few days later, we heard Nas’ new single, “Surviving the Times,” which samples Nipsey Russell’s Tinman song from the movie. Maybe Broadway needs to add the musical to its ever-growing list of revivals.