who did michael jackson play in the wiz?
Scarecrow
entailment
 Despite its lack of critical or commercial success in its original release , The Wiz became a cult classic , especially because it features Michael Jackson 's only starring theatrical film role . 

entailment
 Produced by Rob Cohen and directed by Sidney Lumet , The Wiz stars Diana Ross , Michael Jackson , Nipsey Russell , Ted Ross , Mabel King , Theresa Merritt , Thelma Carpenter , Lena Horne , and Richard Pryor . The film 's story was reworked from William F. Brown 's Broadway libretto by Joel Schumacher , and Quincy Jones supervised the adaptation of Charlie Smalls and Luther Vandross 's songs for film . A handful of new songs , written by Jones and the songwriting team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson , were added for the film version . Upon its original theatrical release , The Wiz was a critical and commercial failure , and marked the end of the resurgence of African @-@ American films that began with the blaxploitation movement of the early 1970s . Despite its initial failure , the film version of The Wiz became a cult classic , particularly among African @-@ American audiences , Oz enthusiasts , and fans of Michael Jackson . Certain aspects of this film adaptation influenced the The Wiz Live ! , a live television adaptation of the musical . 

contradiction
 The teenagers featured on the show attend Tracy and Penny 's school , among them Amber von Tussle and her boyfriend Link Larkin , the lead male dancer . Amber ’ s mother , Velma , manages WYZT and makes sure Amber is prominently featured . Corny Collins and the dancers on the show are white , and Velma only allows African @-@ American kids on the show once a month on " Negro Day " , hosted by R & B disc jockey Motormouth Maybelle . 

contradiction
 Following the film 's success , a prequel novel entitled Independence Day : Silent Zone was written by Molstad in February 1998 . The novel is set in the late 1960s and early 1970s , and details the early career of Dr. Brackish Okun . 

contradiction
 The tribe recites a list of pharmaceuticals , legal and illegal ( " Hashish " ) . Woof , a gentle soul , extols several sexual practices ( " Sodomy " ) and says , " I grow things . " He loves plants , his family and the audience , telling the audience , " We are all one . " Hud , a militant African @-@ American , is carried in upside down on a pole . He declares himself " president of the United States of Love " ( " Colored Spade " ) . In a fake English accent , Claude says that he is " the most beautiful beast in the forest " from " Manchester , England " . A tribe member reminds him that he 's really from Flushing , New York . Hud , Woof and Berger declare what color they are ( " I 'm Black " ) , while Claude says that he 's " invisible " . The tribe recites a list of things they lack ( " Ain 't Got No " ) . Four African @-@ American tribe members recite street signs in symbolic sequence ( " Dead End " ) . 
