Some of them are kind of amusing, like the rocket ship (or, in this case, rocket packs are used, although it’s unlikely that the Wizard would have created two rocket packs). And then there’s the Wicked Witch of the West discussing magic spell recipes with a coven of other witches. But overall the MUNY version lacks the plot flow and seems to miss the heart of the story that the film captures so well.

It begins with a bland, awkward opening scene. For there is no Toto, Miss Gulch, or Professor Marvel, without which there is no story to draw us to this Dorothy character who seems not at all close with her Aunt Em and other relatives (which is rather like the original book). And perhaps that’s why she rockets back to Kansas instead of chanting that there’s no place like home, as we see no love in her home at all. It adds another layer to the Wizard of Oz’s question when he amusingly asks Dorothy, “Why would anyone want to go back to Kansas?”

Dorothy never runs away from home. Instead, the twister comes just after the singing of Over the Rainbow, which in this version is not done in a private moment with her best friend Toto, but as a song she sings to the sky while her family and the entire town gathers around to listen. Once the twister is spotted, Dorothy begins to follow her relatives to safety, but then inexplicably veers off into the house by herself where she gets caught up in the tornado that takes her to Oz.

Things get better from there, but Gabrielson’s plot is still awkward. The Munchkins, who are very charming and amusingly timid when checking out the house that just fell on the witch, tell the “Sorceress of the North” about the remarkable event (with Rachel Faught as the sugary and smiling Glinda-like good witch wearing Sixties go-go boots). But the Munchkins leave the scene before Dorothy walks out, the good witch and the Wicked Witch of the West never meet, and Dorothy ends up spending a long time traveling through Munchkinland before she reaches Munchkinville and gets guided toward the Emerald City on the Yellow Brick Road.

The cast is led by thirteen-year-old Emily Gould as Dorothy who has a fine operatic voice, although that seems somewhat out of place for young Dorothy Gale from rural turn-of-the-century Kansas. The MUNY version added a love ballad called Evening Star that Dorothy sings after convincing the young ladies of the Emerald City that she knows something about romantic love. It’s completely out of place in the story, but Emily’s voice fits best with this song.

Dorothy is surrounded by three good friends, with three good actors in the roles. Michael Ochoa is a very appealing and limber Scarecrow with mindless expressions masking an intelligent brain. Cameron Pollock oozes gentleness and heart as the heartless Tin Man, and Ethan Knowles is a humorous cowardly Lion given to nervous stomach and groaning. And some growling, as he is doing when the Wicked Witch turns on her “MUNY” magic window screen from which she sees the four heroes approaching her castle. “What’s that?” she asks as the lion roars mightily. “I believe it’s Metro Goldwyn Mayer,” her friend responds, a nod to the studio that gave us the film.

Said Wicked Witch is definitely not your classic Wicked Witch of the West. Sarah LeFever plays a modern woman in modern dress with a very pragmatic, businesslike attitude. Other fine performances come from Terra Salazar as the Wizard’s daughter Gloria, Christopher Sheridan as a Wizard out of the 60’s Woodstock era, and Kyle Steeno as the witch’s skeletal first mate Tibia.

The show has some clever comedy sprinkled throughout, as well as some comic scenes that would be better shortened. Most notably the gate guard scene where eleven guards echo each other’s orders, taking about a minute each round, and going on about six or seven times – long after any comic effect has been lost. But an elaborate, reverent gesture by the Sorceress of the North and the Munchkins every time the Wizard of Oz is mentioned is always funny.

Performs April 13-22, 2007.

Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre