BWW Reviews: Studio Tenn's THE WIZARD OF OZ

There are certain things audiences have come to expect in a new production from Studio Tenn, the Franklin-based, Nashville-nurtured professional theater company headed up by Matt Logan and Jake Speck: You know it will be beautifully designed, sumptuously mounted and impeccably cast. And with the company's latest spectacle - a dazzling production of The Wizard of Oz that played Music City's Schermerhorn Symphony Center this weekend just past - theater-goers fortunate enough to be in the audience for any of the three performances were treated to a theatrical experience that seems once-in-a-lifetime, but is only the latest such piece from the brains of the imaginative, creative and altogether impressive Messrs. Logan and Speck.

Logan and Speck were joined on this magical ride by choreographer Emily Tello Speck, musical director Stephen Kummer, designers Mitch White, Scott Leathers, Danny Northup and Sondra Nottingham, some of Nashville's finest actors and dancers, along with a few dozen younger actors who brought the Munchkins to life with finesse, and assorted other cast, crew, technicians and artists who - through hard work, inspiration and dedication to their craft - gave audiences a production of The Wizard of Oz that paid homage to the iconic 1939 film version of L. Frank Baum's story without being slavish in recreating it onstage. Rather, the show delivered so elegantly and so visually compellingly at the Schermerhorn this weekend, presented a Wizard for today, one that will surely live on in the collective memory of the audience as vividly as that technicolor MGM cinematic hit.

Perhaps most noteworthy about this production - save for the stellar ensemble of actors gathered to bring the characters to life - is its overwhelming artistry, an extraordinary blending of elements which resulted in such a stunning show. The attention to detail, the clever use of Leathers' evocative lighting, MA2LA's eye-popping projections that ideally set the various scenes, the shared Oz-deco design vision of Logan and White proves, without question, that Nashville artists rank with the very best magic-makers of Broadway when it comes time to create musical theater productions that will render audiences awestruck.

Taking on a project the size of The Wizard of Oz is a daunting task, to be sure, and it's likely no one other than the fearless Logan would have the nerve (or the "noive," if the Lion were writing this review) would take on the challenge. In lesser hands, it would be a thankless task, with naysayers backbiting and Monday morning quarterbacking every choice made. With Logan, however, the post-production conversation is all about wonderment at his vision and respect for his creative capabilities.

Logan's boundless imagination has resulted in a Wizard that rivals any Broadway offering making its way across the country and, if I were that kind of man, would lead me to wonder why Studio Tenn's The Wizard of Oz isn't rumored to be headed to New York to show off its Music City starry pedigree on the Main Stem. (Interestingly, last week, someone in a Facebook group about Broadway musicals pondered whether anyone could bring a show like The Wizard of Oz - among other shows mentioned in the post - to the stage in a production that audiences would respond to with enthusiasm and in the affirmative. Who knew the answer would be found in a Nashville-born production? I suspected, but couldn't answer until now.) It really was that good.

Logan's costumes were, without danger of overstatement, amazing. He gives the characters a fresh, inventive look that somehow manages to capture the expected - human beings are creatures of habit who somehow don't know they want to see or feel something new - while delivering the unexpected. The Munchkins were a vision in black and white; his Ozians rivaled the very best of Zeigfeld's theatrical creations or any of the cinematic costumers you can possibly imagine. His vision of Oz is exciting and his collaboration with White on the set design is nothing short of staggering, limned with the urgency and radiance of White's neon backdrops. The fantastic land of Oz the two men create is gloriously colorful, with a clear point of view that recalls various design inspirations that emerge as something new; I call it "Oz Deco."

Of course, if we've learned anything over the past decade or so, thanks to Gregory Maguire's Wicked and the subsequent Stephen Schwartz musical, it is that The Wizard of Oz is in reality a show about three divas whose feud fuels the onstage action with enough drama and passion to keep Baum's story alive for multiple generations who keep rediscovering it, thinking of it as their own property. With Dorothy Gale, Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West at its center, The Wizard of Oz is far more complex than its first iteration might suggest and the shared notion that it's a story that belongs to numerous generations proves the timelessness of the material. No matter your age, no matter your upbringing, the Wizard's themes of love, family and the true meaning of "home" resonates deeply, perhaps even more so to us now because we are living in times such as these in which "family" is being redefined in our world on an almost-daily fashion.

Clearly, those themes resonated with audiences in 1939 (and much earlier, as evidenced by multiple stage versions of Oz that filled theaters after Baum's book was first published) and if you look closely at that version, you will find reflected in its storytelling social and pop culture references of those turbulent times, contemporaneously told.

Fanciful and fantastic, Studio Tenn's luxe production lends itself naturally to the diva dynamic : Dorothy's a cornfed minx who is at once spoiled and thoughtful/generous to a fault; Glinda's an adept and manipulative woman clad in confectionary colors that mask her deeper intentions; and The Wicked Witch is frightening and overbearing, yet somehow tremendously appealing in a bad girl sort of way that's left men slack-jawed for a hundred years or more. Logan's casting of American Idol and Broadway veteran Diana DeGarmo as Dorothy, and local theatrical forces of nature Megan Murphy Chambers and Laura Matula (as Glinda and The Wicked Witch of the West, respectively) as the triumvirate lends further gravitas to the theory that the show's really about that trio of strong-willed women, with the rest of the characters serving to support their aims.

DeGarmo's charm wins over her audience and the various characters she meets on that winding yellow-brick road that eventually leads her home, but it is her soulfully delivered performance of "Over the Rainbow" that ensures her performance will long be remembered. Her "Over the Rainbow" very smartly skirts comparisons to Judy Garland's by being its own creation, one in which the melody is easily recognizable yet somehow different: It takes on a bluer hue than Garland's legendary performance and it is hauntingly beautiful (the song's reprise in Act Two, while Dorothy languishes in the Witch's castle lair, is heartbreaking).

Chambers' Glinda is gloriously costumed and coiffed by Logan and Nottingham, but it is her exquisite performance that renders her portrayal most effective. She gives us a Glinda who is square in the middle of things (instead of the rather stand-offish, detached Glinda we remember from the film), lending her grace and slightly skewed sense of humor to the overall impact of the performance.

Matula's Wicked Witch is unique and intriguing as she commands the stage with skill and navigates her way in Logan's fishtailed gown that accents her movement s with stylish flair. She's fully engaged and completely sensusal in her performance and she virtually stops the show with her jazzy rendition of "The Jitterbug Waltz" that is wonderfully danced by the show's ensemble to Emily Tello Speck's superb choreography.

DeGarmo is joined in her tumultuous journey home by the three talented men cast as the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Lion: Graham Keen, Gregory Maheu and Patrick Waller. Keen is perfectly cast as the limber and tumbling scarecrow, thoroughly focused and winningly committed, while Maheu gives us a Tinman who seems more a gallant knight than a rusty woodsman in search of a heart. Waller plays the Lion with a gleeful whimsy that results in some of the more memorable moments in the show. Confident and controlled, he never once goes over the line but somehow pushes it with heartfelt good humor.

Nashville favorite Matthew Carlton provides his rich voice and inestimable talents in the roles of Professor Marvel and The Wizard, while Garris Wimmer displays his versatility in roles ranging from Uncle Henry, the Ozian guard and others, paired with Shelean Newman as Auntie Em. Erin Parker completes the list of principals with a portrayal of Miss Gulch that is, by turns, humorous and frightening, wheeling her way across the stage and into your memory.

What with the grand settings and costumes - paired seamlessly with Anthony Matula's projections - the actors are given the perfect backdrop for their presentation of the story. But there is no way the show would be the success that it was without the choreography of Emily Tello Speck, which somehow captures the requisite flavor of the musical without ever seeming derivative or unoriginal. Rather, her dances seem to have been created of whole cloth which is new and somehow nostalgic, performed with exhilarating zeal by some of Nashville's finest, including Billy Ditty, Lauri Gregoire, Susannah Smith White, Caleb Marshall, Casey Hebbel and company.

Recognition must also be accorded to Cori Laemmel's Theatre Bug, from whence came the delightful corps of Munchkins who dazzled and delighted during their time onstage. Wyatt Rogers shone as the Mayor of Munchkinland, with Thaddeus Bryant as the coroner and Autumn Nash as the barrister. Along with the members of the Lullaby League and the Lollipop Guild, they provided memorable touchstones from the film.

Stephen Kummer conducts a 20-member orchestra who performed the score with grace, respect and vigor. Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg's score has rarely been performed with such skill and never have Nashville audiences heard it with more heart and soul than what was delivered by the musicians under Kummer's baton.

Most likely, the production will remembered for years to come, discussed in hushed tones by the theaterati, recalled reverently by audience members who'll say they were there even if they weren't, and attributed by young actors for years to come as the genesis of their love for all things theatrical.

• The Wizard of Oz. By L. Frank Baum. With music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Background music by Herbert Stothart. Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Directed by Matt Logan. Choreographed by Emily Tello Speck. Musical direction by Stephen Kummer. Presented by Studio Tenn, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville. June 13-14. www.studiotenn.com

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