SMITHFIELD – In their current production, the Four Season Theatre Company here set out to recreate the immortal 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz on-stage.
In some respects, they actually bested that film.
The charming production was a huge hit with the audience of mostly children at the matinee on June 17.
Hard as it is to believe, I discovered that my 11 year-old granddaughter had never seen the movie version of The Wizard of Oz and was wide-eyed at the some of the characters and situations in Four Seasons production.
For adults who know every word of the script and every note of the score thanks to repeated showings years ago on network and cable television, however, it was still entertaining to see how the Smithfield troupe coped with the show’s many staging challenges.
Co-directors Kody Rash and Melinda Richards lived up to the movie version by delivering flying bicycles, witches, fairies, monkeys, a runaway balloon and what not, along with some tricky special effects.
Hats off to everyone backstage who made those difficult gimmicks look easy.
For a pleasant change, this show starred an age-appropriate Haven Tietjen as Dorothy, the Kansas farm girl who flies over the rainbow to the Land of Oz.
Or does she? You get to decide.
Ms. Tietjen convincingly portrays all of Dorothy’s innocence and amazement as she travels the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City and she also has a fine singing voice.
Her companions along the way are equally convincing in the familiar roles of the Scarecrow (Kaito Davis), the Tinman (Dallin Clark) and the Cowardly Lion (Stanton Allen).
Clark is particularly good, with his mellow tenor voice and smooth dancing in a nice soft shoe routine with the show’s ensemble.
Another cast stand-out is Bennett Floyd in memorable dual roles as Uncle Henry and the doorman of the Emerald City
There are also few surprises in this version of The Wizard of Oz.
The first of those is Afton Whitney as the Wicked Witch of the West, who is stylish and sarcastic rather than merely horrible.
In her dual role as Miss Gulch and the witch, Ms. Whitney does more aerial flying than anyone else in the production. Whether she’s on a bicycle or a broom, she looks more comfortable flying through the air than I’d be in her place.
Another surprise twist is that Dorothy’s dog Toto is played by a puppet, manipulated throughout the show by Clifton Richards, on his hands and knees most of the time. While that decision removed the problem of having a live dog on stage, you can’t help feeling sympathy for Richards’ back by the end of the evening.
The restoration of “The Jitterbug” dance routine in the show’s second act is also good news.
That number was cut from the movie version of The Wizard of Oz because MGM studio executives worried that the song would date the movie. But the restoration of that number really gives the show’s talented dance ensemble a chance to shine while they perform choreography by Kelly Bateman, Melissa Jensen and Katie Packer– and they do.
Those dancers included Emma Rosenlund, Jessica Christensen, Riley Ritchie, Morgan Horsburgh, Topher Rosenlund, Germain Costa, Ian Martin and Kyle Cottam, plus the show’s principle characters.
Other neat gimmicks include wry commentary by crows (Sam Tuescher, Bennett Floyd and Topher Rosenlund) and apple trees (Kestlie Harding, Emma Rosenlund and Maggie Gadd) along the Yellow Brick Road.
Finally, the witch’s death scene was nicely executed, though you’ll be sorry to see her go — a stylish witch is hard to find these days.
Rounding out the cast is Lauren Kian in another dual role as Auntie Em and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.
The only real disappointment associated with The Wizard of Oz was that the elaborate farm set by Lineset Design and Fabrication never changed throughout the show. The audience obviously expected that something other than lighting effects would represent the change of setting from rural Kansas to Munchkinland and the Emerald City.
Additional performances of The Wizard of Oz will be staged through July 1 in the auditorium of Sky View High School in Smithfield.