“The Wizard of Oz” LIVE reviewed by Al Bresloff and Sarah Shaw

★★★★★Taking a classic movie and bringing it “live” to the stage, is not an easy task. First of all, the film itself has great meaning to the fans who have been watching it for years. In the case of “The Wizard of Oz”, now in a new LIVE stage presentation at The Chicago Theatre, we are speaking of something historical. Let’s face it, the film with some great actors bringing the characters to life, was back in 1939- 79 years ago! It is to many a youngster ( in particular little girls) a special story and their dream. While we have had many productions of the play with music, most have been 60 minute or 75 minute mini-musicals in theaters such as Chicago Shakespeare or Marriott Theatre For Youngsters, and while cute, they have never had the full power of the movie on the audience. I  guess it is like comparing the Readers Digest version of a story versus the actual book. Not quite the same!

In this new Apex Touring Company presentation of “The Wizard of Oz” a few adaptations have been made to the original by L. Frank Baum as John Kane’s adaptation did some cut and paste work to ease the show into a full 2 hours and thirty minutes (including a 20 plus minute intermission to sell treats and souvenirs). The story is well told and my granddaughter, Sara, a 10- year- old actress herself, said they held her attention from start to finish. She was never bored. In fact, I looked over from time to time and wondered if she ever blinked during the first act. She did, I am sure, but her concentration was there! note: her theater company did a version with a talking Toto last year (her role) so it is a show she is very familiar with, story-wise, and loves!

While this is a touring company show, it is not one that has as much glitz and high-tech as others. But, with the assistance of projections the set takes on a great feel and the lighting, sound, special effects and costumes all add to the magic of watching a story that everyone knows. Kalie Kaimann is Dorothy and while she is a bit older than we might anticipate, she is small enough to pass for a girl and while her voice is certainly not Judy Garland ( who could be?), she has great range and plays well with the cast. I must say, that while my Sarah was great in her portrayal of Toto last year, Murphy is a remarkable Toto in this production, never trying to steal a scene and just staying with the script as written and directed by Dean Sobon.

The three hired hands on the Gale farm, Zeke, Hickory and Hunk are wonderful as they transform to their other characters, The Scarecrow  (Chris Duir aka Hickory), The Tin Man (Christopher Russell aka Hickory) and the adorable Lion (Victor Legarreta aka Zeke). While all three were stand-outs, Legarreta’s Lion is as good as the original ( without copying the wonderful Bert Lahr) with a specialness of his own. Ashleigh Thompson as Aunt Em and Glinda and Michael Weaver as Uncle Henry and the Emerald City Guard are both credible and the powerful Emily Perzan as Miss Gulch and The Wicked Witch of the West is quite sharp! One of my favorite characters has always been Professor Marvel ( deftly handled by Kirk Lawrence, who also takes on the title role, The Wizard of Oz). These are the main characters, two to an actor ,so to speak. The ensemble is another matter.

As everyone knows, I am of the opinion that the strength of a musical show is the power and energy ( as well as the talent) of the ensemble players. These people play all the characters with or without names who do the dance numbers, songs and in some cases, say lines. In this show they are Munchkins ( albeit taller than in years past, so it must be the vitamins)Winkies, Jitterbugs, Birds, Trees, Ozians, Monkeys and anything or anybody else connected to this epic story- great work.

The show has its glitz with Glinda flying in on a star, the monkeys flying around as does the Witch and all in all, special effects are plentiful enough. The Witch “melting” scene is sheer perfection and the choreography by Amy Marie McCleary is effective. Sarah and I sat in row DD ( which is the fourth row) and from our vantage point could see just how small a stage the Chicago Theatre has. Filling this stage with dances had to be a challenging experience. It worked! This production features live music ( some of the tours bring in “canned” music- not this one). By the way, The Jitterbug Scene is not from the film, but most of the music is familiar as it comes from the film.

NOTE: I found the show very entertaining, bringing back some fond memories of watching the film with the kids and the grandkids and loving the musical numbers as well. Sarah, a much younger theater-lover, said that she prefers LIVE over film, knowing that there is always the element of real action having to change during every show. Not a bad observation for a ten -year -old. I concur 100%. The 2 1/2 hours didn’t bother her as she never became bored with the movement of the action. This is a true family program. Even the younger audience members, who showed their enthusiasm in different ways, were not ready to leave when the final curtain fell. They were having to much fun!

“The Wizard of Oz” is here for a short stay- through May 20th at The Chicago Theatre located at 175 N. State Street ( I guess I should say the HISTORIC Chicago Theatre) with performances as follows:

Price: $39 – $129

Show Type: Childrens

Box Office: 312-462-6300

www.thechicagotheatre.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “The Wizard of Oz”