The
Wiz Performance Review
I
watched the live televised production of The Wiz that was aired on NBC at 8PM
on December 3, 2015 in Bethpage, New York (Well technically I watched a recorded
version of it).This was a live production of the original 1975 musical The Wiz,
which was a modern version of The Wizard of Oz with an entirely African
American cast. It was written by Harvey Fierstein and
directed by Matthew Diamond and Kenny Leon. The cast included Queen Latifah,
Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, Mary J. Blidge and many others.
The overall plot of The Wiz is very
similar to that of The Wizard of Oz. The show begins with Dorothy wanting to
leave home and a tornado transports her to the land of Oz. Her house lands on
and kills the Wicked Witch of the East and Dorothy is celebrated by the
munchkins and the Good Witch of the North. She is told to follow the yellow
brick road to the Emerald City to the find the Wiz who is the only person who
can send her home. While on her journey she comes across a Scarecrow, a Tin Man,
and a Cowardly Lion and invites them on her journey to find the Wiz to see if
he can get them a brain, a heart, and courage respectively. Once they reach the
Wiz he agrees to grant their wishes after they kill the Wicked Witch of the West.
Dorothy and her friends are taken prisoner by the witch and Dorothy eventually
kills her by throwing a bucket of water on her. When the group returns to the
Wiz it is revealed that the Wiz is a woman from Omaha that got carried to Oz in
a storm many years ago. The Wiz then reveals to the group that they had the
qualities they were searching for the entire time and they just had to know how
to use them. After a little persuasion the Wiz tries to take Dorothy to Omaha
by using the hot air balloon she arrived in but Dorothy at the last minute
realizes her home isn’t Omaha. Glinda is called by the Good Witch of the South
and reveals that she had the power to take her home was inside of her the
entire time.
While the plot is generally the same
there are many twists to make the production more modern and make it apply to
the African American culture. The music is the most prominent change. The music
is much more modern and has a more soul/funk kind of sound to it. The costumes
are also much more modern. Rather than Dorothy wearing a checkered gingham dress
she wears a plaid skirt with a fashionable jacket. There are also many jokes
that are geared towards a more modern and possibly a younger audience. There
are jokes about an apple tablet, the fascination with getting hair done and
appearance, and bouncers at clubs.
The set changed many times but all
of the sets were well put together and very telling of the scenery. In
Munchkinland the surrounding buildings were tall and oddly shaped to be
indicative of the characters. In the forest they just used simple beams made to
look like tall trees but they helped a lot to convey the creepy and lost
feeling in these parts of the production. Not only were the sets well put
together but so were the set changes. The set changes were very smooth and they
played music while it was happening to signify the change in scenery. The
lighting also helped to convey the mood. During the forest scenes there was lighting
coming from the floor to help add to the creepy feeling, In the poppy scene the
used back lighting in warm colors to make it seem enticing but also the show
that there was danger there. In The Emerald City they use bright green
reflective lighting to emulate the look of an emerald.
The main message of the show is to
overcome your short comings and flaws and look deep within you to find the good
parts of yourself. There are also other smaller messages, like don’t expect
something for nothing and home is more than just where you were born.
Overall I give the production a
10/10 because the acting, music, choreography, sets, lighting, and every other
aspect of the show was excellently executed.
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