I have been a “Wizard of Oz” fan all my life.
As a child growing up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, one of the highlights of my Christmas holiday season was watching the MGM musical when it came around for its once-a-year showing on television. I never tired of the magical story, even after I got to the point where I could practically recite the whole thing line-by-line, verse-by-verse, right along with the characters.
To me, there will never be another movie classic —past, present, or future — with the charm, the magic, or the heart of “The Wizard of Oz.”
Until this week, I also thought there would never be any actors, anywhere, who would breath life into the main characters any better than Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley or Bert Lahr.
Indeed, the actors who portray the major characters in Potomac State College’s version of the classic tale may not be any better than the MGM stars, but they’re surprisingly every bit as good.
To watch McKenna Kirchner as Dorothy, Jim Corley as the Scarecrow, Jim House as the Tin Man and Ernie Poland as the Cowardly Lion is like watching four characters who have been ripped out of the 1939 celluloid and plopped down on the Church-McKee stage. Their resemblance to the film actors’ portrayal is nothing short of amazing.
McKenna not only has the young Judy Garland’s mannerisms down pat, but her rendition of “Over the Rainbow” is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard.
Corley is perfect as the rubber-limbed scarecrow, dancing/falling across the stage in perfect Ray Bolger style — despite the fact that he, unlike Bolger, is dancing with a broken knee tightly wrapped in a brace and kneepads.
House, as the Tin Woodsman, is especially delightful in his first scene as he begins to get his voice back after having been rusted solid in mid-chop. His voice is smooth and soft — vintage Jack Haley — and his clunky dance is perfect as the rusty but lovable Tin Man.
If there could be such a thing in this play as a scene stealer, however, it is Poland’s Cowardly Lion. His version of the King of the Forest wannabe is dead on, and he is a perfect delight both for those who fell in love with Bert Lahr’s scaredy cat and for those youngsters in the audience who unthinkably may never have seen the film version of the tale.
Of course, there are others in the massive production that deserve special accolades, as well.
Kimberli Rowley brings beauty and charm to the character of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and Lura Thompson, as the Wicked Witch of the West, is genuinely scary. Her wicked witch laugh literally fills the auditorium as she maniacally flits across the stage, broom in hand, threatening to do nasty things if she doesn’t get those ruby slippers.
Thompson is sharing the part, incidentally, with Danise Whitlock, and I truly hope to catch one of Danise’s performances before the show ends next week.
One of the more memorable scenes is Dorothy’s arrival in Munchkinland, where she meets the colorful inhabitants of the land on the other side of the rainbow. Over 40 children and young adults portray the little people and literally fill the stage with splash after splash of vivid color.
True fans of the MGM musical will find some differences in this stage version; the most noticeable of which is the addition of three dance numbers.
The first is actually a song which was supposed to be in the movie but was cut because producers felt it made the film too long. Titled “The Jitterbug,” the song tells the tale of a bevy of pesky bugs who buzz around Dorothy and her friends in an attempt to impede their quest to find the Wizard.
Students from EastPointe Ballet perform that dance.
Later, in Act II, students from Daisy’s Dance Studio perform the Funeral March of a Marionette when the travelers are in the Emerald City, and dancers from the Frostburg Dance Academy, dressed as skeletons, capture Dorothy and spirit her away to the witch’s castle in “The Skeleton Dance.”
What a great way to get some of our area youngsters involved in this production! Their moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles and dance instructors should be proud.
There are some other definite differences from the movie version, but for the most part this production stays true to the beloved story. There are even special effects which one would not expect to find on a local stage, including the flight of a Kansas house across the stage as the tornado rages across the Gale farm.
Wow.
Whether you are a “Wizard of Oz” devotee or not, you need to go see this production. You will come away from it feeling nothing short of amazed.
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I have been a “Wizard of Oz” fan all my life.
As a child growing up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, one of the highlights of my Christmas holiday season was watching the MGM musical when it came around for its once-a-year showing on television. I never tired of the magical story, even after I got to the point where I could practically recite the whole thing line-by-line, verse-by-verse, right along with the characters.
To me, there will never be another movie classic —past, present, or future — with the charm, the magic, or the heart of “The Wizard of Oz.”
Until this week, I also thought there would never be any actors, anywhere, who would breath life into the main characters any better than Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley or Bert Lahr.
Indeed, the actors who portray the major characters in Potomac State College’s version of the classic tale may not be any better than the MGM stars, but they’re surprisingly every bit as good.
To watch McKenna Kirchner as Dorothy, Jim Corley as the Scarecrow, Jim House as the Tin Man and Ernie Poland as the Cowardly Lion is like watching four characters who have been ripped out of the 1939 celluloid and plopped down on the Church-McKee stage. Their resemblance to the film actors’ portrayal is nothing short of amazing.
McKenna not only has the young Judy Garland’s mannerisms down pat, but her rendition of “Over the Rainbow” is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard.
Corley is perfect as the rubber-limbed scarecrow, dancing/falling across the stage in perfect Ray Bolger style — despite the fact that he, unlike Bolger, is dancing with a broken knee tightly wrapped in a brace and kneepads.
House, as the Tin Woodsman, is especially delightful in his first scene as he begins to get his voice back after having been rusted solid in mid-chop. His voice is smooth and soft — vintage Jack Haley — and his clunky dance is perfect as the rusty but lovable Tin Man.
If there could be such a thing in this play as a scene stealer, however, it is Poland’s Cowardly Lion. His version of the King of the Forest wannabe is dead on, and he is a perfect delight both for those who fell in love with Bert Lahr’s scaredy cat and for those youngsters in the audience who unthinkably may never have seen the film version of the tale.
Of course, there are others in the massive production that deserve special accolades, as well.
Kimberli Rowley brings beauty and charm to the character of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and Lura Thompson, as the Wicked Witch of the West, is genuinely scary. Her wicked witch laugh literally fills the auditorium as she maniacally flits across the stage, broom in hand, threatening to do nasty things if she doesn’t get those ruby slippers.
Thompson is sharing the part, incidentally, with Danise Whitlock, and I truly hope to catch one of Danise’s performances before the show ends next week.
One of the more memorable scenes is Dorothy’s arrival in Munchkinland, where she meets the colorful inhabitants of the land on the other side of the rainbow. Over 40 children and young adults portray the little people and literally fill the stage with splash after splash of vivid color.
True fans of the MGM musical will find some differences in this stage version; the most noticeable of which is the addition of three dance numbers.
The first is actually a song which was supposed to be in the movie but was cut because producers felt it made the film too long. Titled “The Jitterbug,” the song tells the tale of a bevy of pesky bugs who buzz around Dorothy and her friends in an attempt to impede their quest to find the Wizard.
Students from EastPointe Ballet perform that dance.
Later, in Act II, students from Daisy’s Dance Studio perform the Funeral March of a Marionette when the travelers are in the Emerald City, and dancers from the Frostburg Dance Academy, dressed as skeletons, capture Dorothy and spirit her away to the witch’s castle in “The Skeleton Dance.”
What a great way to get some of our area youngsters involved in this production! Their moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles and dance instructors should be proud.
There are some other definite differences from the movie version, but for the most part this production stays true to the beloved story. There are even special effects which one would not expect to find on a local stage, including the flight of a Kansas house across the stage as the tornado rages across the Gale farm.
Wow.
Whether you are a “Wizard of Oz” devotee or not, you need to go see this production. You will come away from it feeling nothing short of amazed.
