Review: THE WIZ at Short North Stage

Long before Judy Garland donned her Ruby Slippers on the big screen, author L. Frank Baum envisioned his book THE WIZARD OF OZ  as a musical. Baum was involved in the retelling of his book as a musical comedy that toured the United States in 1902.

Since then, Oz has taken on many shades and formats under the rainbow, with the most recent being WICKED. But before Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo inherited the franchise, there was THE WIZ, a soulful retelling of Baum’s masterpiece. The production, which won seven Tony awards in 1975 and was made into a movie starring Diana Ross (Dorothy) and Michael Jackson (Scarecrow) in 1978, hopes to find a new audience at the Short North Stage. The epic production opened Nov. 21 and runs through Dec. 28 at the Garden Theatre (1187 N. High Street in downtown Columbus).

The SNS production captures the three characteristics the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man lack. It is a show with courage, brains, and heart.

Director Christopher Page-Sanders rolled the dice when putting this production together with a host of creative ideas.

How does one create a tornado on a stage? Choreographers Page-Sanders and associate director Nicholas Wilson used seven talented dancers to symbolize the twister. Dorothy Gale (the delightful Amirah Joy Lomax) holds on to a spinning set piece before it lands in Oz.

Just as the movie version goes from black and white to color, scenic designer Edward Carignan transforms the stark stage to the greenish hue of Oz, and then to the dark recesses of the Wicked Witch’s lair.

Costume designers are to a show what an offensive line is to a football team: essential but often overlooked—unless something goes wrong. The work of Costume Designer Courtni Riddick and costume coordinator Max Adrian is breathtaking.

The crows (Mekhi Adika, Marshawn Anthony, Khordel Jackson, and Tyrell Jamaal Reggins) mimic Smokey Robinson and The Miracles with shiny silver suits and tight choreography. The witches, Addaperle (Cathy Bean), Evillene/Glinda (Amber Knicole), and the Wizard (Bessie D. Smith) find their own unique color scheme.

THE WIZ is not flashy without substance. This large cast expertly punctuates William F. Brown’s clever script and Charlie Smalls’ music and lyrics. Some of the script seems dated. Referring to someone as a “jive turkey”  feels like it fell out of the script of a 1970s cop show.  

That being said, Brown’s script remains fresh and funny. When Dorothy begs to be taken back to Kansas, Addaperle responds, “Oh, I don't think so. That comes under the heading of transporting a minor across state lines.”

Smalls’ catchy tunes support the script. While “Ease on Down The Road” is probably the song most associated with the show, the SNS cast delivers “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” with a gospel-like fervor and Dorothy’s “Home” at the show’s end is incredibly gripping and moving.

Like the body can’t survive without its heart, THE WIZ would be dead without its stalwart cast. Lomax is everything you would want in Dorothy, who goes from a shy farm girl from Kansas to the person who stands up to the Wicked Witch.  It has been interesting to watch Carter Minor (the Scarecrow) evolve as an actor on the Short North Stage over the last five years and hopefully audiences will continue to see more of Corey Barrow (the Cowardly Lion) and Desmond Newson (the Tin Man) in future productions. The quartet’s chemistry grows as they transition from being four strangers thrown together at the beginning to being comrades by the end.

Smith has a commanding presence as the Wiz, capturing the conflicting nature of being great and powerful in one scene and then becoming meek and humbled after her secret is exposed. Bean shines as the comedic, straight-shooting Addaperle and Knicole splits her personality evenly, portraying both the good (Glinda) and the malevolent (Evillene) in the second act.

A show built on courage, heart, and brains deserves artists who embody all three, and Short North Stage delivers. Their Wiz doesn’t just revisit Oz—it reminds us why we keep returning to it.

Photo credit: Kyle Long

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