The talented kids of CMT take to the stage to perform The Wiz. Based on L. Frank Baum’s children’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—most famously adapted in the MGM cinema classic, The Wizard of Oz—this production is based on the 1978 Broadway musical of the same name. The original staging of The Wiz reimagined the tale of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion with an all-black cast and a score that replaced the jaunty and orchestral music of the 1939 film with rhythmic gospel, soul, funk and R&B numbers.

The Wiz
Fri, 7pm, $15+
Montgomery Theater, San Jose

After first debuting a collaboration with San Jose Taiko at Subzero Festival in 2010, the Bangerz is working with the traditional Asian drumming performance group again for a joint performance in San Jose.

For the show schedule June 15 at the Montgomery Theater, the two groups want to expand on the original idea introduced at the Subzero Festival.

“I think a lot of people came out of curiosity, but it was kind of like the chocolate and peanut butter effect. It was an epic night,” says Bangerz DJ Aaron “Squareweezy” Aquino.

As of now, the show is mostly finished and will run approximately an hour and twenty minutes with new material.

“We thought it would be cool to merge forces one more time and extend on what we did,” Aquino says. “It will touch on San Jose Taiko’s 40th anniversary and It’s also going to the Bangerz’ 15 year anniversary.”

The plan is to do one show and potentially expand, depending on interest.

“A lot of our music is electronic, 808 drums and hard-hitting synths,” Aquino says. “I think it hits a different note in people when you hear those loud Taiko drums [and see] their choreography combined with the drums, both visually and sonically.”

A Kickstarter campaign, running through May 27, was launched to help offset production costs.