BWW Reviews: THE WIZARD OF OZ at SHEA'S BUFFALO Theatre

A MAGICALLY HEARTFELT JOURNEY TO OZ

Escaping to Oz may be the fate for Dorothy, but her glorious adventure had patrons at Shea's Buffalo Theatre delighted to follow her down that infamous yellow brick road. The lavish new production of THE WIZARD OF OZ opened last night and had the audience enraptured with the familiar story. The classic MGM musical has been lovingly adapted to the stage by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Jeremy Sams, with some new songs by Weber and Tim Rice, who previously collaborated on Jesus Christ Superstar.

Those looking for comparison to the movie should realize that any stage adaptation will differ, but in this case, different works well and avoids a literal restaging of the 1939 film. This national tour's new songs help with character development, but also add a bit of Broadway glitz that theatre goers have come to expect. Happily the famous score by Buffalo's own Harold Arlen with lyrics by E.Y Harburg is still fully intact. The lush orchestrations sound great and were a treat in escaping to Oz and back.. The large ensemble plays munchkins, citizens of Oz, and the wicked witch's Winkies. Creative costuming by Robert Jones gives the illusion that the munchkins are definitely a height challenged group, while his Emerald City creations are full on Broadway glamour, with a nod to the costumes for WICKED by Susan Hilferty

Newcomer Sarah Lasko is cast as Dorothy, the glum, parentless Kansas gal who is misunderstood by her Aunt and Uncle. Lasko is high in charm and shines most when she meets her pals along the yellow brick road. The trio of farm hands that turn into the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion were the highlight of the evening. Morgan Reynolds as the Scarecrow is endearingly goofy and forgetful in his quest for a brain. His limber dancing and wide eyed grin was infectious. Jay McGill was the stiff jointed and often teary Tin Man, treating us to a tap dance interlude in his "If I Only Had a Heart." And then the fabulous Aaron Fried jumped to life with perfect comic timing, and a tail on his costume that took in a life of it's own. Fried was given multiple asides and commentaries that made this tale jump into the 21st Century.

Shani Hadjian plays Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West . Her entrance was priceless as she rides her bike across the stage in full profile, showing her long crooked nose. Her familiar bike riding music and that nose let us know we were in for a treat with this character. Hadjian is given a new song and she reveled in her evilness, without being too scary to the younger children in the audience. In fact, this incarnation fully succeeds in balancing good with evil, as well as making the dark themes palatable for children. The addition of the well trained Toto always helped lighten the mood.

Her nemesis, Glinda the Good Witch, played by the lovely Rachel Womble, is given the Act II closing duet with Dorothy "Already Home," and it is the most successful of the musical additions to the score. Mark A. Harmon as Professor Marvel/ The Wizard seemed a bit taxed by his new patter song "Wonders of the World" and never fully inhabited the role of the blustery behind the scenes Wizard.

The magic in this production lies in the stunning set designs by Jones. His Kansas setting in reminiscent of the stark paintings of Edward Hopper, in contrast to his colorful yellow brick road designs and imposing Emerald City. The settings are enhanced by Jon Driscoll's vivid projections that expertly dealt with the tornado scene and again with the flying monkeys in Act II. Director Jeremy Sams direction is swift and cinematically glides from one scene to the next. Choreography by Arlene Philips is energetic and gleeful in the Munchkinland scenes, while being creative in her use of props in "The Witch is Dead" number.

THE WIZARD OF OZ continues to dazzle audiences in this new production and only can add to the OZ canon of works that has captivated audiences of readers, movie goers and now theatre goers of all ages.

THE WIZARD OF OZ plays Shea's Buffalo Theatre from April 5-10,2016. Performances are Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 7pm and Saturday and Sunday Matinees at 2 pm.

For tickets ($30-$75), call 1-800-745-3000, go to ticketmaster.com or visit Shea's Box Office , 650 Main St, Buffalo.

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