The digital Wizard of Oz

Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann

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Who: The Fox Theatre
What: The Wizard of Oz
When: May 13–18, 2014

Turning movies into musical theatre has been a popular pastime for many years now. No surprise, then, that there have been multiple attempts to bring the much-loved 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” to the musical stage. With all those great Harold Arlen and “Yip” Harburg songs, after all, it’s almost a musical to begin with.

The Muny took a shot at it back in 1945 and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987. In 2011 Andrew Lloyd Webber, his long-time lyricist Tim Rice, and director Jeremy Sams produced their version for London's West End by adding some new songs, providing additional lyrics for the originals, and tossing in a few big dance numbers.

A tour of the 2012 Toronto version of that “Wizard” (with almost all of the Toronto cast) is playing the Fox this week, and while it's not likely to replace the 1939 movie in anyone's heart, I think it will provide a pleasant evening's entertainment for Oz fans. The new material is pretty well integrated with the older songs and actually advances the story instead of just padding it. That includes choreographer Arlene Philips's dance numbers, which are long enough to be interesting without bringing the show to a screeching halt—as happens far too often in recent Broadway productions.

So the result is a respectable stage musical that closely follows the movie's story line while giving it a somewhat contemporary spin. There's even a little twist at the end which, while out of synch with the film, is true to the spirit of L. Frank Baum's original novel.

While clearly a reduced version of the more elaborate West End production, this tour is still visually striking, thanks to set and costume designer Robert Jones. The stark, sepia-tinged Kansas prairie contrasts nicely with candy-colored Munchkinland, and the Wizard's chamber has an elaborate Steampunk look. And the towers of the Emerald City shoot up towards the fly space in cartoonishly exaggerated forced perspective.

Many of the original film's special effects—including the tornado and the flying monkeys—have been turned into remarkably realistic digital animation sequences (by Daniel Brodie, recreating Jon Driscoll's originals) projected on a massive scrim that covers the entire stage. Indeed, the trip to and from Oz—in a spinning vortex that might look rather familiar to "Dr. Who" fans—has enough depth to risk inducing vertigo.

A very strong cast is headed by Danielle Wade as Dorothy. A University of Windsor acting major, Ms. Wade was chosen for the part by viewers of "Over the Rainbow," a Canadian reality TV show produced specifically to cast the role of Dorothy in the Toronto production (the same process was used to cast the original Dorothy in London). That's an interesting story all by itself, but the bottom line is that Ms. Wade is a strong singing actress with a light soprano that serves both her and the role well. She sounds and looks nothing at all like the young Judy Garland, which is as it should be. She is her own Dorothy, vulnerable and feisty as required and obviously quite comfortable in the part.

Jacquelyn Piro Donovan is Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West. She's one of only two principals who weren't part of the original Toronto cast (the other is Jay Brazeau as The Wizard and Professor Marvel) and appears to be enjoying herself immensely. She has a powerful voice and a commanding stage presence that make the most of her second act opener, "Red Shoes Blues."

Mike Jackson, Lee MacDougall, and Jamie McKnight are the Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow, respectively. The script gives each of them a bit more time in the spotlight than their cinematic originals and they all use it to great advantage. A running gag in which the Scarecrow keeps getting and losing ideas is especially well done.

Robin Evan Willis's Glinda has a kind of arch "goody two shoes" (you should pardon the expression) quality that makes for a nice contrast with Ms. Donavan's cheerful wickedness. Jay Brazeau's Wizard is a perfect model of ineffectual humbuggery. Larry Herbert and Chelsey Duplak are a warm and sympathetic Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. Even Toto (a rescue dog named Nigel; he alternates with another rescue pup, Loki) is a real pro and irresistibly cute in the bargain.

Robert Jones's costumes are striking. Glinda, for example, has a particularly arresting glittery gown that literally fills the stage [truly, fills the entire stage?] on her first appearance whereas her wicked counterpart is all black feathers with a wild spike of a wig that looks like a Russian dome (suggesting Baba Yaga, maybe?). The Tin Man looks like a fanciful animated boiler and the Scarecrow is appropriately scruffy. Only the Lion's outfit looks oddly cheesy, like a reject from "Cats."

Throughout the show, an ensemble of nearly two dozen hard-working singers and dancers provide the crowds of Munchkins, residents of the Emerald City, Winkies, and other denizens of Oz. They have, in many ways, the hardest jobs: constantly in motion and dealing with multiple costume changes.

There are no big "oh wow" moments in this show (although some of the animation comes close) but it's fun, the whole family can enjoy it, and it's both faithful to and respectful of its cinematic origins. As I say, if you're an "Oz" fan you'll find it worth your time.

"The Wizard of Oz" runs through Sunday, May 13, at the Fox Theatre in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

Off to see the wizard

Photo: Andrea Zucker

Who: Ballet Memphis
What: The Wizard of Oz
Where: The Touhill Performing Arts Center, presented by Dance St. Louis
When: January 24 and 25, 2014

When you think of the music for the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," the first names that probably come to mind are Harold Arlen and E. Y. "Yip" Harburg. Their songs "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "If I Only Had a Brain" have been firmly ensconced in the Great American Songbook for decades. If you're a film music fan, you might also think of composer/arranger (and Broadway veteran) Herbert Stothart, who combined Arlen's tunes with original material into a seamless, Oscar-winning score.

Names that would probably not leap to the forefront of your cranium would be Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, and Zoltán Kodály. And yet the recordings of music by those 20th century masters that serve as the accompaniment for Ballet Memphis's dance version of the classic film are so well chosen that you'd think they were composed exactly for the purpose.

That canny choice of music isn't the only reason this ballet version of "The Wizard of Oz" was so entertaining, of course. Steven McMahon's eclectic and character-driven choreography, Bruce Bui's colorful costumes, Andrew Kovach's simple but effective sets, and Andrew Meyers' minimalist yet dramatic lighting all combined to make this a genuine "all ages" show. We saw it at the Saturday matinee, and the parents were clearly enjoying it as much as their Munchkin offspring.

Photo: Andrea Zucker

The scenario follows the film closely and, rather like Beijing opera, clearly assumes that the audience is familiar enough with the source material to fill in the details. When we saw the oversize, distorted shadow of Rafael Ferreras, Jr., (slyly fraudulent as the Wizard) flamboyantly gesticulating at Dorothy and her three companions, for example, it was easy to recall the oversize, distorted projection of Frank Morgan's face from the movie. Likewise, Travis Bradley's loose-limbed, acrobatic clumsiness as the Scarecrow immediately called to mind Ray Bolger's equally magical dancing in the original.

Ballet Memphis's "Wizard of Oz" is not, in short, for those who have somehow never seen the film. But then, given how popular the film has been over the decades, that's pretty small potatoes as criticism goes.

The company has assembled a wonderful cast of dancers for this tour. Julie Niekrasz (Glinda in the evening performances) was a wistful and charming Dorothy, Dylan G-Bowley an amusingly robotic as the Tin Man, and Kendall G. Britt Jr. the very essence of comic feline bravado as Lion. Crystal Brothers (Aunt Em in the evenings) was a wonderfully sinuous and gravity defying Wicked Witch while Virginia Pilgrim (Dorothy in the evenings) was cheerfully sugary as Glinda. Daniel Russell Cooke was a sympathetic Uncle Henry, and Bryn Gilbert made a strong impression in the small but vital role of the awful Miss Gulch.

Photo: Andrea Zucker

The corps de ballet (which included dancers from some of the smaller roles) filled in as poppies, snowflakes, flying monkeys (with some very evocative Fosse-esque choreography), and citizens of the Emerald City. Students from COCA's dance program portrayed the Munchkins and children of Oz. It's a nifty local tie-in and, again, a sign of the intelligence behind this production in that it saves the company the hassles of travelling with child performers.

It is, I suppose, possible that hard-core dance lovers might dismiss overtly commercial efforts like "Wizard of Oz" (although Ballet-Dance Magazine certainly seemed to like the 2007 premiere), but the fact is that very few performing arts organizations can survive these days without the occasional crowd pleaser. You can't champion newer and more innovative work (as Ballet Memphis clearly does; their motto is "reach further") without something guaranteed to pay the bills. If the size of the house this past Saturday afternoon was any indication, "The Wizard of Oz" is does that, and delivers a satisfying piece of dance theatre in the process. I'd call that a win-win.

The Ballet Memphis production of "The Wizard of Oz" played the Touhill Performing Arts Center January 24 and 25, produced by Dance St. Louis. The Dance St. Louis season continues February 28 and March 1 at the Touhill with Diavolo, a company of modern dancers athletes, gymnasts, ballet dancers, martial artists, actors, and stunt performers, the blurs the boundary between dance and circus arts. For more information: dancestlouis.org.

Hello yellow brick road

Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by Ward Stare
What: Oz With Orchestra
Where: Powell Symphony Hall
When: October 26-28, 2012

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When you think of the music for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, the first names that probably come to mind are Harold Arlen and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg. Their songs “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “If I Only Had a Brain” have been firmly ensconced in the Great American Songbook for decades.

The real heavy lifting in the soundtrack, however, was done by composer/arranger (and Broadway veteran) Herbert Stothart, who combined Arlen’s tunes with original material (including the famous “Wicked Witch” theme) and even a bit of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain into a seamless, Oscar-winning score. Oz With Orchestra, the brainchild of Emmy Award–wining producer John Goberman, combines a remastered version of the film with “entirely new transcriptions” of that award-wining score played by a live orchestra.

As performed by the symphony under Ward Stare, the result was an ear-opening experience that has given me an entirely new level of respect for Stothart’s work. Heard live, the music revealed fascinating orchestral details inaudible in the original soundtrack and demonstrated how skillfully Stothart and his arrangers (George Bassman, Murray Cutter, Ken Darby, Paul Marquardt, and Roger Edens) used Arlen’s melodies as motifs to accompany the action.

Granted, some of those details may have been added as part of those “new transcriptions”, but on the whole this struck me as the aural equivalent of a historically appropriate gut rehab of an older home. Combine that with the beautifully restored Technicolor print of the film—Oz had never looked so vibrant—and you had a night out that any “Oz” fan was sure to love.

Oz With Orchestra was also a reminder of why Ward Stare’s star is on the rise. Conducting a program like this requires a set of skills that are not, I suspect, common in most conservatories. Mr. Stare had to not only keep track of the printed score and his musicians, but also two monitors—one with a timer and one with the film itself. It looked like a multitasking nightmare to me; he deserves a medal of some sort for pulling it off so well.

I think it might also be a challenge to accompany singers whose performances are essentially cast in concrete. Normally singers and conductors can communicate with and adjust to each other. Here it wasstrictly a one-way information flow and, in fact, there were times when the filmed singers weren’t always completely in synch with the live orchestra.

There were also balance issues between the film soundtrack and the orchestra, at least on opening night. Some dialog got lost in the music, as did some lyrics in the big ensemble numbers. Part of the problem might be that the voice tracks for Wizard of Oz still have that tinny 1939 sound, so they don't project as well as newer films. This wasn’t an issue with Lord of the Rings, for example, even though the orchestral forces there were much larger.

The bottom line is that Oz With Orchestra was family fun in every sense. There was even a costume competition one hour prior to each concert, with a prize pack of symphony goodies (including tickets to December’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie night) for the winner.

And by the way: wasn't Ray Bolger just one hell of a fine dancer?  He only gets to demonstrate his terpsichorean skills for a few minutes in the final cut of Oz, but those few minutes are a brilliant demonstration of the dancer's art.  He seems to be so nearly weightless that you can almost believe he really is made of straw.  That's real magic.

Next at Powell Hall: the regular season returns on November 2 and 3 with Yefim Bronfman performing Brahms’s imposing Piano Concerto No. 2. Helsinki Philharmonic Chief Conductor John Storgårds will be on the podium for the concerts, which include Webern’s arrangement of Bach’s Ricercar No. 2 from The Musical Offering and Schumann’s Symphony No. 4. For more information: stlsymphony.org.