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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Theatre in the Park closed its 40^th anniversary season last weekend with a Kansas legend: The Wizard of Oz. Having seen multiple versions of this musical over the years, Theatre in the Park outshone them all. Whether it was due to the ingenious costumes, the versatile sets or the passion of the amateur performers, this was one well-conceived and expertly directed production.

The casting was inspired.  Molliann McCulley (Dorothy) was in her element as the petulant and perky young heroine.  With her very own dog, aptly named Toto, in her arms throughout the entire performance she danced her way down the yellow brick road and into the hearts of the viewers. 

Other standouts included Jaime Scherrer who played Glinda, the Good Witch of the North and Aunt Em. She made both roles completely believable with her native Kansas and Oz accents and beautiful singing.   Wendy Godfrey, as the Wicked Witch of the West, gave a deliciously twisted portrayal of the vengeful antagonist and Don Leonard captured the misguided Wizard to a tee.

The handsome trio of the Scarecrow (Zak Smith), Tin Man (Peter Purin) and the Cowardly Lion (David Thompson) acted, sang and danced well and reminded this reviewer of a boy band when they took the stage in Act 1 as the farm hands.  David Thompson was particularly entertaining with his excellent comedic timing. He injected some very humorous lines into the predictable story.

Deserving special recognition were the clever and multi-functional costumes, created by Libby Irving and her crew. The adorable munchkin children looked like multi-colored Seussian cupcakes with fondant hats.  When they took the stage an audible "aw!" could be heard throughout the audience.  Other highlights were the poppies which sat on stage as both set and chorus, a la Lion King.  When the magic snow falls, they pulled the back of the skirting over their bright red flower faces to exhibit white mounds of snow.  In addition, the transition from pre-tornado geometric black and white patterns to brilliant color in Oz was also well done.

Although the script was nearly identical to the movie, a few of the deleted scenes were replaced.  Harold Arlen had written music for a dance sequence called the Jitterbugs which was like a 1930's tribute to that dance craze.  It did extend the production, but it pumped up the energy in the Act 2.  All of the verses were restored to the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion's introductions.  Never having heard these before, I was enthralled.  Some of the ladies of the chorus sang a clever Andrew's Sister's-esk number as trees in the Tin Man sequence, while a trio of jazzy crows tortured the poor Scarecrow.  Even the Winkies, the Wicked Witch's slave guards, performed a zombie-inspired number.  These additional scenes could have slowed the action considerably, but the leads kept the pace up and there was no lag time between scenes.

Singing the 1930's style harmony couldn't be easy, but the chorus was more than up to the task. It isn't a sound that had a lasting appeal but recreating that heavenly chorus gave the score an authentic edge. It was also lovely to hear the live pit orchestra conducted by Joell Ramsdell, since many other theatres are opting for canned substitutes.

Director Hank Koehn and his team deserve a special mention.  The Wizard of Oz was well designed and expertly executed.  Theatre in the Park deserves a big round of applause.  In my opinion, this amateur production was easily the best musical I'd seen all summer.  

REVIEW
The Wizard of Oz
Theatre in the Park
Saturday August 8, 2009
www.theatreinthepark.org

Photos by Aaron Linberg.

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.