One has to admire any actors with enough courage to tackle this timeless classic. For many the characters are so engraved into our minds from watching the MGM film countless times growing up that many already know it by heart. That is why I went into the Madison Square Garden Entertainment’s theatrical production of story with a natural sense of wonder and hesitation.
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The Wizard of Oz
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 Entertainment
 Art
Chicago Theater
Chicago, IL
April 30, 2009 — May 03, 2009
Running time: 2 hours and 25 minutes
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The result is a mixed bag. On the one hand, any one that goes to see the play must already realize it is meant for little kids. On the other you have to give the children some credit, they are really far smarter than they seem and deserve better.
The Wizard of Oz is undoubtedly a tricky play to make. Yet I got the impression that they were only half trying. While some of the special effects like the wicked witch’s fireballs are convincing the production’s portrayal of the Munchkins was flat-out laughable. Making use of little kids in the Munchkin role makes logical sense but they are underused. Instead they give all the major lines to adults who are, no joke, squatting to look smaller. From where I was sitting the actor playing the Munchkin mayor actually looked taller than Dorothy.
Dorothy is a whole other problem. In an attempt to make Dorothy (Cassie Okenka) more like Judy Garland they seemed to make her far less intelligent. When she first arrives in Oz and is led on the path to the Yellow Brick Road, the look on Okenka’s face was one of total passiveness.
Okanka’s Dorothy would probably go anywhere with anybody if they seemed nice enough. The fact that she had just landed in a magical world did not seem to register at all. It was as if in order to make her seem more childlike the director made an extra effort to boost her naiveté. If they just gave the girl a little bit more brains and heart the audience (well anyone over the age of eight) would at least be able to relate to her as a character and not just some idiot always running into trouble.
Her companions do a much better job. Chris Kind’s version of the Tin Man seems to get through some real emotion as a lonely mechanical man who yearns for a heart. Still, the entire time you wish they would break out of the MGM mold, if only for a little while. What made the Oriental Theater’s production of Wicked so powerful was that it was not afraid to break through the cliché’s of the Oz universe. In Wicked we get to see what the REAL Tin Man and Scarecrow looked like, the production last night just looked like a really expensive Halloween costume.
There were a few shining moments though, none of which had to do with the actors. As the storm brewed for the big tornado scene a screen appeared on stage between the set and the audience. Making use of a background video screen the combination resulted in a very impressive 3D whirlwind onstage.
At its heart this is a play for little children. Though the messages are a little muddled and the actors are a bit too self-conscious (that 1930s Mickey Rooney imitation gets old after about 10 minutes) those young enough to get caught up in the enchantment will never know the difference.
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