“The Wiz” was a good idea in 1974, and it’s still a good idea today: Retell “The Wizard of Oz” as a musical with a Black cast, singing tunes with R&B, disco, soul and gospel arrangements.

The North American tour of this brightly colored song-and-dance spectacle, directed by Schele Williams, has eased on down the road to Milwaukee’s Marcus Performing Arts Center for performances through March 29.

It’s a clever blend of human creativity and technology. The tornado winds, poppies and even the yellow brick road are represented by costumed ensemble dancers (the yellow brick road people are drum majors). But during the March 24 opening performance, the Marcus audience also saw some groovy, psychedelic projections and a futuristic Oz.

Just like in L. Frank Baum’s original novel (1900) and the famous movie adaptation (1939), a cyclone deposits young Dorothy (Phoenix Assata LaFreniere) in Oz, where she meets and befriends Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis), Tinman (D. Jerome) and Lion (Cal Mitchell). They’re off to see The Wiz (Alan Mingo Jr.), hoping he’ll give them a brain, a heart, some courage and a way home for Dorothy. But wicked witch Evillene (Kyla Jade) has designs on that silver footwear Dorothy’s wearing (yes, silver like the novel, rather than the movie’s ruby red).

MILWAUKEE – A person of interest remains in custody following a fatal shooting on Water Street that left one person dead and two others injured early Sunday.

The Milwaukee Police Department says 22-year-old Dylan Jackson was killed. An 18-year-old and a 19-year-old were also injured.

Local perspective:

Before the shooting, a bar manager says the area was already chaotic.

Tim Sluga, general manager of Duke’s on Water, said problems were brewing outside the bars before shots were fired. He said he was working Saturday night into Sunday morning and feared violence would occur.

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“Chaos. It was just chaos outside,” said Sluga. “The pistol whippings, the shootings, everything else. The street was already chaos when that happened.”

Sluga said he was working Saturday night into Sunday morning and feared violence would occur.

“My reaction in general that night was, ‘here we go again,’” said Sluga. “It’s sadly not surprising.”

Sluga said the violence over the weekend reflects a recurring problem in the entertainment district.

Dig deeper:

Last July, city leaders held an emergency meeting after increased violence in the area. Police later announced plans to increase their presence and curb loitering.

Sluga said he expected more enforcement.

“We were told by MPD there was going to be a curfew enforced this year, we didn’t see that this weekend,” said Sluga.

Some patrons say they are also frustrated.

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“It’s like the younger crowd pushing out the older crowd now. If you ain’t 21, there’s no reason for you to be down here,” said Dequan Cave of Milwaukee.

Sluga said bars themselves are generally safe, but problems occur outside.

“It’s a great place and there’s a lot of really good people,” said Sluga. “These are just issues that are out of our control.”

What’s next:

MPD said a Code Red deployment focused on safety in the entertainment district was in place over the weekend. Police also say plans may be modified to improve downtown safety.

Spring training in Phoenix has wrapped up and the Milwaukee Brewers are set to begin the 2026 regular season at 1:10 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at American Family Field against the Chicago White Sox.

The Brewers exceeded expectations in 2025, recording a franchise-record 97 wins and the best record in baseball (97-65) and advancing to the National League Championship Series. Can they match that in 2026? Here are Journal Sentinel staff predictions for the season.

HOW I SEE IT: I understand what I’m doing with this prediction, ultimately putting so much of the Brewers’ 2026 outlook on a group of largely unproven, young starters. But I think the Brewers do, too. I’d be lying to you if I said I felt good about the plan to throw Brandon Woodruff and a cavalcade of guys with minimal big-league experience, but I also have to acknowledge the potential upside here. It’s been a few years since the Brewers’ rotation was this talented, and we know what the Brewers can do with those kinds of arms. On offense, I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t somewhat concerned about their chances of repeating last year’s scoring output without adding any external thump to the lineup. My brain says it’s going to be a step back this year – although not a big one, maybe just to a wild-card spot – but my eyes have seen this film before. And it usually ends with the Brewers fielding a roster much better than the public is giving them credit for.

2026 PREDICTION: 89-73, NL Central champions, lose in NL Wild Card round.

HOW I SEE IT: Count me among the group of non-believers a year ago at this time. Heck, as late as the start of that series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in late May I penned a story guessing all the players the Brewers would be trading away in the near future because they were going nowhere. How wrong I was. And I’ve learned my lesson – don’t bet against these guys. Especially with the bulk of the team that ended up winning a franchise-record 97 games and advanced to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2018 returning. No doubt, Freddy Peralta would look really good anchoring the staff. So would Caleb Durbin at third base. All five of the players Milwaukee received in return are going to factor in, however, with right-hander Brandon Sproat, left-hander Kyle Harrison and infielder David Hamilton in particular expected to fill large roles. There are major questions – most notably whether veteran Brandon Woodruff can remain healthy and how the young starting pitching will fare. No question, the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Pirates are all improved. But the road to the Central Division title has run through Milwaukee the past three years, and this group expects to win.

2026 PREDICTION: 90-72, NL Wild Card spot, advance to NL Division Series.

HOW I SEE IT: I should finally just trust that this franchise can identify the correct unproven arms in the rotation and players who weren’t seen as building blocks in other organizations, transforming that brew into a runaway Central Division title. They did it last year. And 2024. And 2023. Why do I still have this nagging feeling that 2027 will be the year the Brewers really swing for the fences, and 2026 is about seeing what they’ll still need? Remember how weird it was that the Brewers thrived at scoring runs last year because other teams kept committing errors? They were one of the best run-scoring offenses in baseball, and yet it still feels like they got a lot of breaks offensively. Then, they didn’t get perceptively better in the offseason, while the chief rival Cubs and other NL Central brethren did. You know what? Maybe the Brewers just need the semi-professional prognosticators like me to keep hating. And maybe it’s just impossible for me to accept this team has solved the riddle of how to win consistently without overtly addressing their perceived weaknesses. One of these years, though, they really won’t get away with it.

2026 PREDICTION: 86-76, miss playoffs (barely)