Tag: wicked

The Wiz Is So Fantastic You Should Get on Down to It at the Orpheum Theatre

Cal Mitchell as The Lion, Dana Cimone as Dorothy, D. Jerome as The Tinman, and Elijah Ahmad Lewis as The Scarecrow in the North American Tour of THE WIZ. Photo by Jeremy Daniel

I’ve never seen The Wiz performed live. I remember seeing the movie as a kid and being a little disappointed, and based on some light research, I might still feel that way about the film version. This stage production of The Wiz, though? Man, it was groovy.

The show is designed as a Motown infused take on The Wizard of Oz, so if you’ve seen the classic film or read the books, you already know the basic plot. It doesn’t stray far from that framework. What it does do is filter the story through a different cultural lens, a more modern, hip sensibility, with Charlie Smalls’ R&B influenced songs driving the energy. It puts a fresh spin on everything, including a surprising amount of humor that feels very contemporary. That may be thanks to Amber Ruffin, who is credited with additional material for this production, likely updating William F. Brown’s original book. A quick glance at the Wikipedia summary of the original musical shows that quite a few changes have been made, including cutting Toto entirely.

The cast is strong across the board. Of the four companions Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, the weakest link might be Dana Cimone as Dorothy. Her voice didn’t feel quite as full, rich, or confident as the others, but that may also be a deliberate character choice. Dorothy is a young girl who struggles with confidence and connection, and part of her journey is discovering that she already has what she needs. Her three companions are all fantastic, with another standout being Alan Mingo Jr. as the Wiz.

I’m not usually a fan of heavy reliance on projection in production design, it often feels like a shortcut. But here, I absolutely loved Daniel Brodie’s projection design and how seamlessly it integrated with Hannah Beachler’s scenic design. The projections add a fantastical quality and are executed at such a high level that they create a striking illusion of depth. At times, I found myself trying to figure out whether there were multiple physical layers onstage or if it was all visual trickery. I don’t want projections to replace physical sets, but in this case, I’m completely on board.

This isn’t Wicked, Frozen, or The Phantom of the Opera, a revival of The Wiz simply isn’t going to have that level of budget. But the creative choices here frequently approach that level of spectacle. In some ways, the design also nods to the classic film. The show opens with a black & white aesthetic reminiscent of the Kansas scenes in The Wizard of Oz. The original film also used lush but obviously painted backdrops, and the projections here echo that two-dimensional theatricality in a clever way. At the same time, the production makes great use of low-tech magic, including an especially effective tornado created with dancers and lighting. (See the Photo Below)

Gregory Hamilton, Moriah Perry, and Kameren Whigham as The Tornado in the North American Tour of THE WIZ. Photo by Jeremy Daniel

The costumes by Sharen Davis, lighting design by Ryan J. O’Gara, and choreography by JaQuel Knight all deserve special mention. Together, these elements create a visually dynamic and consistently engaging production. My hazy memory of the film, one I probably haven’t seen in over four decades, is of something cluttered and uneven, though that may be more about the taste of a preteen raised on the Technicolor splendor of the original Wizard of Oz. This stage production is clean, lean, and well-paced. The narrative moves briskly, the design is enchanting, and the cast delivers strong vocals alongside bringing a sharp attitude and colorful humor to the characterizations.

The Wiz runs through December 21st at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.
For more information and tickets, visit:
https://hennepinarts.org/events/the-wiz

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Scarecrow on Fire is a Charmingly Askew Take on the Further Adventures of the Characters of Oz

Dan Chouinard, Kevin Kling, Simone Perrin, and Stephen Yoakam Photo by Lauren B Photography

I didn’t expect when I headed to the Center for Performing Arts in South Minneapolis for Illusion Theater’s production of Scarecrow on Fire to find quite such a confluence of my personal interests. The play written by Kevin Kling is performed as an old time radio show, faithful readers will know of my love for this genre by my frequent praise of shows from The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society. The show features musical performances from the House of Mercy Band, which are often accompanied projected on the back of the stage clips from silent film versions of The Wizard of Oz, silent film is another passion of mine. The play itself begins in the land of Oz and is narrated by the Scarecrow played by the playwright Kevin Kling. After receiving a troubling response from a Crow, the Scarecrow sneaks a look into the Wicked Witches crystal ball and sees a vision of Dorothy seeming distressed and saying the phrase Scarecrow on Fire! The Scarecrow gathers the Tin Man and the Lion and they agree to use the ruby slippers, which are a doorway to Kansas to journey from Oz and find and help Dorothy. In Kansas, the trio all arrive separately and have their own odd adventures in the mysterious land of Kansas.

There isn’t anything that doesn’t work in this production, the live music performances from House of Mercy Band are terrific beginning with a terrific version of “If I Only Had a Brain“. But to forewarn you, almost all of the rest of the music and songs do not come from the famous 1939 film. That isn’t a bad thing, I just don’t want to leave you with the wrong impression. The play is however filled with little Easter eggs and winks to our collective cultural consciousness of the film. It’s part absurdist fish out of water tale and part exploration of the mind itself. Much like Dorothy’s experience in the film, where everything could be explained by her mind taking parts of her reality and molding them into a fever dream fantasy. The script is smart, funny, and knows its audience has this shared knowledge of The Wizard of Oz, which we do, it’s like it’s part of our genetic makeup. Though I wonder now, if I’m among the last generations that will contain that film within our DNA.

Along with Kling as the Scarecrow the cast contains Dan Chouinard as The Tin Man, Stephen Yoakam as the Lion, and as Dorothy Gale, Simone Perrin, who wonderfully sings a couple of songs during the show with a real 1930’s feel to her style. Both Chouinard and Yoakam along with their primary roles fill in as other side characters as needed. All four members of the cast are excellent vocal performers perfectly suited to the requirements to play multiple characters within a scene. Yoakam particularly has fun conversing with himself, swapping hats as he changes his voice as a visual gag for us, the studio audience. Along with the House of Mercy Band, Chouinard tinkles the piano keys occasionally and other background music is performed by Cellist Michelle Kinney. There is so much happening in the intimate black box theater space that you sort of forget it is being performed as a radio play. I don’t think anything would be gained and a lot might be lost if this were performed as a fully mounted stage play. This is the ideal format for this story it’s such an original and delightful piece that is built upon all of these artifacts from years gone by.

Scarecrow on Fire runs through May 4th at Center for Performing Arts in South Minneapolis as part of Illusion Theater’s 50th Anniversary season. For more information, to purchase tickets or to make a donation to Illusion Theater go to https://www.illusiontheater.org/scarecrow-on-fire

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