The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz
National Touring Company
Buell Theater
Denver, CO 
February 7-13, 2016

Even though The Wizard of Oz started out as a movie, it is one of the most beloved musicals of all time. It is such a classic that most theater groups painstakingly reproduce the without much modification.

The current tour of the show has not taken this reverent approach. Not only have they made changes to the book and songs, they have put a completely new spin on the costumes and character relationships.

The new music is mostly unexciting. Many seem to have been added just so previously non singing characters like the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard have songs to perform. "Bacchanalia" is actually a less interesting song than "The Jitterbug" which it replaced. The one exception is "Already Home" at the end of the show. This one song is the only memorable one aside from the original Arlen and Harburg score.

The costumes for the four main characters are fairly conventional. However, the look of the witches is original, creating a similar look between the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda was an interesting compliment to the script change which made them cousins. My favorite change, however, was the clothing of the Munchkins. Just as in the original L. Frank Baum books, the Munchkins all dressed in blue. However, going by this convention, the Winkies should have been dressed in yellow rather than the orangish red they wore.

The Oz sets were surprisingly simple and often amateurish. The rainbow lighting fixture at the top of the stage was interesting and the color changes added a special touch to the sets, but the fake looking flowers and moving platform that represented the yellow brick road weren't impressive.

The special effects were a mixed bag. The screen which raised and lowered throughout the performance was a tip off that a special effect was coming. The tornado was impressive, but the use of projected images to show the flying monkeys seemed lazy. Often the effects on the screen was used to replace action on the stage while the set was changed behind.

The performances of the cast were strong. The dog playing Toto however, stole the show. The dog was so well trained that he often sat on stage during scenes without distracting from the action. And he came and went perfectly on cue. At the end of the performance, it was the dog who received the loudest ovation.

This version of The Wizard of Oz attempts to walk a fine line between remaining true to the original and creating a new, modern telling of a classic American fairy tale. How well it succeeds is on the eye of the beholder.