NBC's 'The Wiz Live!' Finds Its Dorothy In Newcomer Shanice Williams [VIDEO]

One acting newcomer is about to find out there’s no place like home. After hundreds of auditions, NBC has found the actress that will put on the shiny slippers and make her way to Oz in the network's “The Wiz Live!”

New Jersey native Shanice Williams will be following the yellow brick road after being cast as Dorothy, NBC announced Wednesday on "Today." It will be the 18-year-old performer’s first role on television.

Williams has appeared in local productions of “West Side Story”, “42nd Street”, “Pippin” and other titles, Entertainment Weekly reports. See a video of Williams singing and finding out she got the role below:

Last week, news broke that Queen Latifah will play the Wiz, while Mary J. Blige has been cast as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. On Tuesday, NBC announced that star David Alan Grier will join the cast and will play the Cowardly Lion.

E! Online reports NBC is currently eyeing Beyoncé for the role of Glinda the Good Witch. The 20-time Grammy Award winner is said to have been offered the role, though it remains unclear whether or not she plans to accept.

It has not been announced who will play the Scarecrow and Tinman. Stephanie Mills, the first Dorothy in the original Broadway production, has been cast as Dorothy’s Auntie Em.

“The Wiz Live!” will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who also produced the network's “The Sound of Music Live!” and “Peter Pan Live!”

The Wiz is an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The musical tells the story of The Wizard of Oz, but with an "African-American/multicultural twist," according to E! Online.

“The Wiz Live!” premieres Thursday, Dec. 3, on NBC.