This “Wizard Of Oz” comes to us via London and Canada.
When Frank Lloyd Webber decides to join with old partner Tim Rice to produce a stage version with Jeremy Sams of this old classic, everyone sits up and listens. All sounds super, but it really ends up as a retelling of a well-known story, with a few tweaks here and there and a few added, unrememberable songs. The old saying, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” applies here.
The hard-working Canadian cast led by Danielle Wade as Dorothy – who won the part on a reality show – does a fine job with voice and dancing, all while handling a delightful Toto (a carin terrier named Nigel with an understudy called Loki).
Mike Jackson (Tin Man), Lee MacDougall (Cowardly Lion) and Jamie McKnight (Scarecrow) deliver energetic performances. Jacquelyn Piro Donovan (The Wicked Witch of the West) and Robin Evan Willis (Glinda) are different witches than we are used to. I missed the originals. These characters were just a little too over the top for me. The use of video impressions instead of the technical, creative stage craft available today is a little disappointing. Costumes by Irene Bohan and choreography by Arelene Philips are colorful and interesting.
Of course Harold Arlen and E.Y Harburg’s “Over The Rainbow” and “We’re Off To See The Wizard” are standards imbedded in our memories that never go away.
This “Wizard Of Oz” tells this old story and sometimes veers off the “Yellow Brick Road” where it really belongs.
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco
Through: Oct. 27
Details: 888-746-1799 or visit www.shnsf.com.
