BWW Reviews: The Garden Theatre's Community Collaboration of THE WIZARD OF OZ

Orlando has a lot of wizards, but no matter how many theme parks or big time blockbusters, there is one wizard that people old and young enjoy. The Garden Theater's production of THE WIZARD OF OZ combined the well-known story by L. Frank Baum with the catchy tunes of the original MGM motion picture.

Described as a "community collaboration" this production is a natural fit between professional theater production and community theater production. The tremendously talented leads worked well with the local children cast as Munchkins to create this charming production. The set pieces were beautifully done colored cutouts and projections, while the special effects maintained their modesty.

Chloe Robin was born to play Dorothy Gale. Her sweet voice, youthful acting and dancing perfectly matched the role. By the way, this triple threat is still in high school. The other leading ladies Beryl Rochatka as Miss Gultch/ Wicked Witch of the West, and Meaghan Fenner as Aunt Em/ Glinda the Good Witch had the boisterous audience rolling in their seats with laughter. Rochatka's mastered her evil witch laugh, which was bonechilling.

The charismatic trio: Scarecrow (Erik Nelson), Tin Man (Daniel Longacre), and Lion (CK Anderson) were talented actors and dancers. Their portrayal did not stray far from the original characters, but they worked well as Dorothy's entourage.

The kids as the Munchkins and other roles were cute and well rehearsed. Another treat was the production's real dog actor - Toto. The April 26th performance marked the debut of the Toto understudy, who performed admirably and, at times, stole the show.

Also at this performance was a trio of sign language interpreters. The Garden Theatre offers ASL translated shows on select nights. After seeing The Garden Theatre's earlier production of CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD, subscribers and audience members can truly appreciate this craft. It was like two shows for the price of one. The stage production and the sign language interpretation version, which was equally as entertaining and beautiful.

THE WIZARD OF OZ is a story that never gets old and great for cross-generational families. THE WIZARD OF OZ runs at The Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, Florida from April 19 to May 26. For tickets and showtimes visit www.gardentheatre.org.

Photo Credit: The Garden Theatre

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