David Alan Grier Will Roar in The Wiz Live!

David Alan Grier | Photo Credits: Corbis

This article, David Alan Grier Will Roar in The Wiz Live!, originally appeared on TVGuide.com.

NBC's live production of The Wiz has cast David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion, the network announced Tuesday.

The comedian and three-time Tony nominee will play the famed feline, who joins Dorothy on her adventure to Oz. Ted Ross originated the role when The Wiz first opened in 1975.

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Grier has experience as a song-and-dance man, most recently in Porgy and Bess on Broadway opposite Audra McDonald, and has TV credits including Happy Endings, Life with Bonnie and the '90s hit In Living Color. He is also set to star in the upcoming NBC comedy The Carmichael Show, which premieres Aug. 26.

The Wiz has already added its Wicked Witch of the West and Wizard, with Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah, respectively, and is still searching for its Dorothy.

The Wiz Live will air on Dec. 3.

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