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Oz performance warm-hearted |
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Written by John Bromley
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Thursday, 20 September 2007 |
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 I remember being terrified of the “Wizard” movie as a boy, so I value good-natured productions of the stage show very highly. And the Union Colony Dinner Theatre version, while eminently faithful to the original’s text and spirit, is the most warm-hearted production I can ever remember seeing.
Supper is catered at UCDT by Tastebuds Epicurean Suite, and was, as always, delicious. Chicken breast is offered, as is pork loin; for the rest of us there are vegetarian entrees if you call well before the show. My guests split along predictable chicken or pork lines, and all pronounced themselves well satisfied. We moved smoothly to dessert, either a berry tart, a superbly-rich chocolate cake or a sundae, which my younger guests demolished thoroughly while distributing liberally.
The show revolves around Dorothy and her dog, Toto, and if they work, so does the show. University of Northern Colorado senior Kayla Hudson is a charmer, pretty and possessed of a rich voice; Toto, who is a Cockapoo, is a singularly sweet, docile dog whose real name is Lola and whose owner goes unidentified. Dorothy and her dog are pursued by wicked, bossy Almira Gulch, offered by UCDT stalwart Krista Dixon, who charmed us all, a year or two ago, as Potiphar’s wife in “Joseph.”
Soon Dorothy and Toto are wafted on Katrinaish winds to OZ, where Dorothy sees many of those familiar to her from Kansas in new guises.
Sharon Sheets, whom we first see as Dorothy’s Aunt Em, is reborn as Glinda, the good witch; Sheets is equally strong in both roles. Stacey Campbell is impressive as Professor Marvel, an itinerant magician but in Oz the Wizard himself. Campbell also brings three little Campbells, Hannah, Jackson and Katie, each enrolled in Chappelow, to the company. The Campbell children are joined by Flying Monkeys Brianna and Garrett Holz, and also by Hennah Esparza-Escobar, all of whom add gaiety to the scenes in which Dorothy is welcomed to Oz, and, later, also a bit of terror as she is menaced in the woods by lions, tigers, bears and monkeys.
Dixon is a wonderfully mean witch, just as she is as Mrs. Gulch; it’s always good to see Dixon, but in this show, it’s also good to see her melt.
Particularly delightful, and largely responsible for the show’s massive good will, were Brandon Bill, Spencer Hughes and Steve Wallace, who were, respectively, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman. Bill is both enormous and funny, Wallace clanked memorably and Hughes shed straw becomingly; all three, with Dorothy, were available for pictures, an opportunity my four little guests and I all took. Bill, soft and woolly in his lion suit, even offered extra hugs. I thought Sarah Meyers, Hillary Tae and Brianna Gasner made exemplary Trees, and the hit of the show was Brandon Bill’s “King of the Forest.” Lloyd Norton led the company in “ The Merry Old Land of Oz,” the rousing second act opener.
Sic semper tyrannus, I thought, as the Wicked Witch melted; at end the show’s lesson, that there is no place like home, is memorably taught.
Directed by Cathy Salamayeh, the show is a treat. UCDT is now into its third season, and has become a very welcome addition to the arts community.
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John Bromley is director of the President’s Leadership Program at UNC.
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TO GO TO THE SHOW
“Wizard of Oz”
• Performances Thursday-Saturday evenings, Sunday matinee. Doors open at 6 for evening shows, and at noon on Sunday.
• Through Oct. 14
• Union Colony Dinner Theatre, 802 9th St., Greeley
• Reservations: 352.2900 | Only registered users can write comments.
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