Review - The Wiz: Road Show

Along with contempt, familiarity is also pretty good at breeding hit Broadway musicals. Take The Wiz, for example; the perfectly pleasant but sketchily written 1975 Tony winner for Best Musical that, if it weren't based on L. Frank Baum's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (which became an iconic American story once MGM got its hands on it), would probably leave audiences completely baffled as to what the devil was going on.

Bookwriter William F. Brown short-hands the tale of how farm girl Dorothy Gale gets caught up in a twister that transports her to a land of witches, munchkins, a yellow brick road (suitable for easing down) and one deceptive wizard. His Spartan scenes quickly surrender to Charlie Smalls' catchy assortment of soul, funk, jazz, gospel and disco songs; some of which have lyrics that are actually somewhat associated with the plot. For good measure Luther Vandross contributed a celebratory anthem that just screams for radio play.

But maybe that's all that was needed in the mid-70s; a time when urban unrest turned even the Broadway district into a sketchy part of town. With minority neighborhoods in Harlem and The Bronx suffering from serious decay, an upbeat musical that translated a classic American story into a celebration of black culture that sermonized on believing in yourself and having love and respect for the home that raised you probably didn't need to delve deeply into details its audience already knew.

And while things aren't perfect today, The Wiz's place in our musical theatre heritage seems to have settled into the comfortable role of fluffy nostalgia. The jokes can get a bit corny, but the humor is genial, and the score - if not exactly top-drawer musical theatre - is the kind that allows strong actors to take center stage and perform.

Gratefully, the Encores! Summer Stars production of The Wiz has strong actors who know how to smack some life into their underwritten characters and director Thomas Kail's swift and stylish production gives everyone plenty of elbow room to do their stuff.

Happily, this Wiz begins and ends with the luminous singing actress LaChanze, who opens and closes the evening in two roles that require her to do little more than say a few lines and then wrap her gorgeously expressive mezzo around a ballad. Her lovely warmth as Aunt Em is just a warm-up for her Act II appearance (Kail gives her an Eartha Kittenish re-entrance), glimmering charm and exceptional vocal phrasing as the good witch Glinda.

In between her appearances, it's Joshua Henry's Tinman who threatens to steal the show; first with a jaunty song and dance performance of "Slide Some Oil To Me," and later with a thrillingly heartfelt, "What Would I Do If I Could Feel?" James Monroe Iglehart provides rich, booming vocals for his stint as the lion and Christian Dante White's rubbery scarecrow nicely completes the trio. As Addaperle, the daffy Good Witch of the North, Dawnn Lewis admirably dives into some of the book's least effective comic material while Tichina Arnold, blessed with a role that allows her to strut with campy brassiness, gets the second act to a rousing start as Evilene, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Unfortunately, the two above-the-title stars (who total one stage acting credit between both their Playbill bios) do not supply the wattage of their fellow players. As Dorothy, Grammy winner Ashanti has a pretty voice and can deliver the money notes when required, but she sings and speaks with little emotion and barely displays any physical presence. Orlando Jones certainly works hard as the title character, but there's little variety or nuance to his portrayal.

But such annoyances can (almost) be set aside when treated to the dynamic contributions of set designer David Korins, costume designer Paul Tazewell and lighting designer Ken Billington, who each combine glittering fantasy and urban grit to provide a playground for Andy Blankenbuehler's dancers to dazzle as they impersonate flowers, winged creatures, brick roads and whipping winds. And with Alex Lacamoire conducting 22 pieces through Harold Wheeler's funked up orchestrations, Encores!'s The Wiz smoothly eases over the occasional bump in the road.

Photo by Robert J. Saferstein: LaChanze and Ashanti

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