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MiraCosta's 'Wizard' pays homage with reimagined staging
By:PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer

From singing crows and swooning trees, to a balletic tornado and puppet wizard, L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" has been colorfully reimagined in director Eric Bishop's entertaining production at MiraCosta College.

Based on the 1939 movie musical version of Baum's book, Bishop pays loving tribute to the movie ---- most of the characters physically and vocally resemble their film counterparts ---- but he isn't afraid to try new things to re-create the film's special effects on a live theater stage. The big-cast production boasts dozens of costumes, multiple sets, choreography, sound effects and a full orchestra. It's an ambitious staging that won't disappoint children (or adults) who have grown up on the MGM film version.
Even if you've seen the movie a hundred times, there are new things to discover in MiraCosta's stage production. Bishop and musical director James Shepard re-inserted the rarely heard vocal introductions to several songs that were cut from the movie. They also turned the grumpy, apple-tossing trees into backup singers who get misty-eyed around the romantic Tin Man. And three black crows, not the least frightened by the corn-patch Scarecrow, provide humorous backup on his "If I Only Had a Brain" solo.
MiraCosta College doesn't have the production budget or editing wizardry to duplicate the magic made on the MGM backlot 65 years ago, so Bishop, set designer Kelly Kissinger, choreographer Natalie Woodward-Vilas, lighting designer Paul A. Canaletti Jr., costumer Heather Murray, makeup artist Toni Cochrane and special effects adviser Joel Ward had to improvise, and the results are quite effective.

The tornado that transports Dorothy from her Kansas farm to the fanciful land of Oz is achieved with a whirlwind of black-clad dancers who sweep up objects in their human whirlwind as they cross the stage; the Wizard apparition is a two-story puppet head with moving mouth and eyebrows; Dorothy's dog, Toto, becomes a human actor once they arrive in Oz; the yellow brick road is created with flood lighting. There are flashes of fire, smoke and bubbles to liven up the magic, and Bishop makes ample use of the audience gallery aisles so children can see their favorite characters up close.

Even more brilliant lighting design (especially during the tornado and in Oz) could enliven the fantasy aspect of the story, but the sheer number of costumes, drop curtains and sets (especially the Dr. Seuss-like Munchkin cottages) is quite impressive.

Equally impressive is the casting. The actors pay homage to their celluloid counterparts, but still find their own humanity in the parts.

Sara Elliott is pretty, poised and a fine singer as Dorothy Gale, the Kansas farmgirl who dreams herself caught up in a tornado and transported to the fanciful land of Oz. She doesn't belt "Over the Rainbow" but sings it sweetly, just like Judy Garland. And she convincingly plays a character much younger than her actual years.

Especially pleasing is Benjamin Hart as the dimwitted farmhand Hunk and the rubbery limbed Scarecrow. He can sing, dance, act and he does a near-perfect vocal imitation of the film's Scarecrow, Ray Bolger. Eric Hellmers brings out all the sweetness of the Tin Man (and the farmhand Hickory). And Toni Billante (whose acting resume is packed with larger-than-life characters) delivers the laughs as the Cowardly Lion (and farmhand Zeke), but he doesn't go over the top and overwhelm the performances of his fellow travelers on the yellow brick road.

Lydia Lesar is delightfully nasty as the Wicked Witch of the West (and town busybody Almira Gulch), and Mary Elise White balances her as the bubbly Glinda the Good Witch. Grace Delaney and Devin Collins are believable as Dorothy's Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, and Robin Morgan gives an enjoyable broad performance as both the huckster Professor Marvel and the Wizard of Oz.

Other standouts include Juan Casteneda as the Oz gate guard, Jason Dino as the leader of the flying monkeys, Christopher Walsh as the human Toto (the canine version, a Jack Russell terrier named Penny, appears placidly in the opening and closing scenes), among many others.

Shepard conducts the orchestra in a fine performance of the beloved Howard Arlen/E.Y. Harburg score, though it frequently overpowered the singers during Sunday's matinee.

"The Wizard of Oz" runs just over two hours, with intermission.

"The Wizard of Oz"

When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9-11; 2 p.m. Oct. 11-12

Where: MiraCosta College Theatre, 1 Barnard Drive, Oceanside

Tickets: $10, general; $8, seniors; $6, students

Info: (760) 795-6815