RCMPI’s The Wizard of Oz provides family-friendly theatre experience
It has been 20 years since Royal City Musical Productions Inc. (RCMPI) last visited the Emerald City in their 1996 production of The Wizard of Oz. With a more ambitious vision and a larger stage, the company once again took on the classic musical at the River Run Centre from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27.
L. Frank Baum’s original story has seen countless adaptations and spin-offs, but the 1939 Wizard of Oz film remains timeless for many people who grew up watching it and who have since shared it with their children. RCMPI’s production did not stray far from the film’s script, score, or character design, constructing a safe, yet endearing retelling of Dorothy’s travels through the magical land of Oz.
In playing such iconic roles, the actors were challenged to find that fine balance between mimicry and homage.
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For Breanne Tice, playing Dorothy—one of the most iconic female leads in musical history—was a bit intimidating at first, but she soon learned that the character needed to come from a more intuitive place.
“It’s such a specific and personal thing to take on a role and it’s important not to be intimidated by what other people have done with it and really just approach it with your truth and what you want to bring to the role,” Tice explained.
Tice portrayed Dorothy with confidence and tenacity through her emotianl journey. Even when Tice’s Dorothy was frightened, she was never weakened. Her innate strength was emphasized each time she stood up for the people she cared about.
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Throughout the three-hour show, Tice was accompanied by approximately 75 actors, some of whom were performing for the first time on stage.
“We have such an amazing company here and we have such a wide range of people from little kids all the way up,” said Tice. “I get to interact with so many different people on stage.”
The most natural interactions, however, were between Dorothy and her three unlikely companions: the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.
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Naz Chaudhry’s physicality as the Scarecrow was highlighted through his choreography—though sometimes his dancing was almost too refined for his loosely stuffed limbs. As Dorothy’s first friend in Oz, Chaudhry fostered a mutual understanding with Tice that was summed up in their wordless good-bye.
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Ben Wallace’s Tin Man demonstrated a range of emotions—despite not having a heart. The constricting costume did not prevent Wallace from keeping up with the rest of the cast and likely helped him to embody the character’s burden in a very real, tangible way.
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Providing the majority of the comic relief in the show, Scott William rounded off the trio with a boisterous performance of the Cowardly Lion. While every line was delivered with gutless conviction, William’s vocal performance stood out most of all with his rendition of “If I Were King of the Forest.”
Having grown up watching The Wizard of Oz on TV, William hoped to bring in a few more theatrical elements to the character to differentiate from Bert Lahr’s classic performance in the film.
“We get a lot of people who come here because of the movie and I think I would like people to come away with the idea that theatre is different than cinema, but there’s a joy to it that film and cinema don’t have,” William explained.
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Aside from the beloved characters and songs, if there is one thing every adaptation of The Wizard of Oz needs, it’s whimsy.
Director Karen Allen and her production team were able to recreate the magic of Oz using creatively choreographed dance sequences and multi-media effects that could have very easily taken the audience out of the story if the timing and execution weren’t well handled. Instead, these elements invested the audience further into each scene.
One risky artistic choice that really stole the show, however, was the floppy-eared pup Tigger who played Toto. From the moment Dorothy first appeared running down the aisle with Toto in her arms, the audience was awed by the dog’s well-behaved stage presence.
Though Tigger did not want to stay in the wicked Miss Gulch’s basket during Friday’s performance, his improvised resistance to being taken away seemed only natural for a dog in Toto’s situation.
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“Working with a live dog is a challenge I have never experienced before, but it has been so exciting and I think it makes for a new experience every time,” said Tice, who worked with Tigger quite closely during the show. “Just having him on stage brings such a presence.”
While working with a live animal on stage was an unpredictable and entertaining learning experience for Tice and much of the supporting cast and crew, for vocal director Sue Lawrenson, that’s what community theatre is all about.
“When you do something like this, you want to have an awesome experience to begin with, but you want to learn something as well,” she explained.
Lawrenson is among four cast and crew members who were involved in the 1996 production at E.L. Fox Auditorium. Having previously portrayed the role of Glinda, Lawrenson said the experience behind the scenes has been “just as magical the second time around.”
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Through adventures both on and off the stage, it is clear that RCMPI’s return to The Wizard of Oz embodies the elements that make this tale so enduring. From the timeless story of friendship and perseverance to the reminder that life itself is a constant learning curve that requires wit, love, courage, and a little bit of magic, there is no doubt that The Wizard of Oz will return to RCMPI’s repertoire again in another 20 years or so.