Review: CCT'S IN THE LAND OF OZ at Columbus Children's Theatre

 Every state has its own tourist trap. Michigan has The Mystery Spot in St. Ignace. Tennessee has Rock City near Chattanooga. Illinois has the World’s Largest Rocking Chair in Casey.

And from Sept. 26-Nov. 2, Columbus has “Hank Gale’s Wonderful Museum of Oz,” the setting of Columbus Children’s Theatre’s immersive experience IN THE LAND OF OZ (1165 Dublin Road near Grandview).

According to director Zach DelMonte, this production is one of the largest immersive theatre creations in the state. An over-20 person cast of professional actors and youth bring this magical world to life. The audience doesn’t passively watch the performance. They step into it, exploring the massive stage as actors create the action around them.

“The biggest challenge has been the scale of the production,” DelMonte said. “We had to create a whole world that people walk around in.”

The script for this experience, created by playwright Evan Joslyn, is loosely based on THE MARVELOUS WIZARD OF OZ, L. Frank Baum’s second book in THE WIZARD OF OZ series.

"Oz is a story people think they know, which makes it the perfect one to unmake," Joslyn said. “We wanted to crack open the myth and ask what happens when nostalgia curdles.”

And the nostalgia indeed curdles. You won’t find Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, or the Cowardly Lion in this production. The only character holdovers from the 1939 film are Uncle Hank (who only appears in the promotional video), Glinda (Julie Russell, via video), and the Scarecrow (Chad Baker). The only yellow bricks in this version are for sale in the gift shop right next to the Scarecrow’s pickled brain.

To enter the land of Oz, attendees watch the exhibition hall’s promotional film narrated by Gale, the uncle of Dorothy and the museum’s curator. Visitors then stumble into a 45 minute to an hour tour of the magical land of Oz, a dark, crumbling kingdom overrun by cobwebs and weeds.

While the iconic film’s optimism lingers faintly in glow-in-dark graffiti (“There’s No Place Like Home” splashed across walls) and in the munchkins’ holy reverence for Dorothy’s slippers, IN THE LAND OF OZ feels more nightmare than over the rainbow.

In Joslyn’s script, the Wicked Witch Mombi (Patty Wallace Winbush) has a secret weapon her sisters didn’t possess, the Powder of Life, which brings inanimate objects to life and turns the living into stone. Tip (Owen Suarez), a young Ozian, uses the powder to bring his pumpkin-headed scarecrow to life but mostly the witch uses it to leave a trail of human statutes in her wake.

An all-female army tries to enlist members of the audience to join them in storming the castle and overthrowing the Scarecrow who has been placed in charge of Oz by Glinda. Soon the rightful ruler Princess Ozma (Makayla Franklin) emerges and battles to retake the throne.

What makes this show click is its attention to detail. DelMonte said he wanted to make IN THE LAND OF OZ “theatre beyond four walls.” Project coordinator Maya Eberhardt, experience coordinator Bessie D. Smith, and project manager Brian Altiere make sure the audience’s journey is crammed with visual elements on every corner and keeps the audience moving in a steady pace.

Scenic designer Samantha Tamulonis gets points for creating the decaying kingdom. Her piece de resistance is a room of porcelain dolls who sporadically move their heads to follow guests.

Costume Designer Megan Starr and makeup artist Matthew Eberhard echo the darkness of the show as well as creating realistic human statues that keep theatre goers guessing which ones are alive and which ones are set pieces.

Projections designer Ryan Shreve incorporates clips of Hank and Glinda as well as many other visual hooks across the experience. Lighting designer Jennifer Sansfacon uses shadows and light to build a land that has gone way past the rainbow and back into the dark side. Sound designer Emma McCalla manages to keep the sound from many different areas from overpowering each other.

THE LAND OF OZ is CCT’s second foray into immersive theatre, following 2023’s THE SLEEPWALKER OF HOLSTENWALL, also written by Joslyn. SLEEPWALKER nearly sold out every performance during its string of shows. If IN THE LAND OF OZ can produce similar sales, Columbus might be seeing more immersive experiences in the future.

“The biggest thing we learned from THE SLEEPWALKER OF HOLSTENWALL is that Columbus needs more immersive experiences,” DelMonte said. “There’s this hunger for something different and interesting, not only from audiences but actors are clamoring for this kind of opportunity.”

While every state may have its tourist trap, Columbus  Children’s Theatre may have found something far richer: a chance to step off the beaten yellow brick road and wander into a darker, stranger Oz.

Photo Credit: Nancy Batterson