Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Ticket availability ... Forum to detail 'Big Oil' attempt to block climate bill ... Darex adding space and employees amid a sales boom ... Ticket availability ... Forum to detail 'Big Oil' attempt to block climate bill ... Darex adding space and employees amid a sales boom ... THEATER REVIEW Review: OSF's 'The Wiz' glitters with stunning visuals Comment By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted Jun. 19, 2016 at 6:36 PM By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted Jun. 19, 2016 at 6:36 PM » RELATED CONTENT • 'The Winter's Tale' of two worlds • Quills & Queues: Comins reflects on what it means to be Hamlet at OSF... • Theater review: OSF's sublime 'Roe' respects all viewpoints • Quills & Queues: Oregon Shakespeare Festival artistic director talks about the direc... • An awful war, but a wonderful play » Social News Let's get it out of the way immediately, folks. OSF's new production of "The Wiz" — that urbanized retelling of the famed L. Frank Baum classic set in 1970s America — is almost embarrassingly good. Sure, there are moments of concern. When a production as traditionally lush as this one is set, for the first half hour or so, against an almost empty backdrop, the action gets a little lost under the august canopy of the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. There was a brief moment when your critic thought, foolishly, that OSF's masterful scenic designer Christopher Acebo may actually have put a foot wrong. That witless notion was fast put to bed, as the stage was transformed into a hallucinogenic fantasy par excellence, complete with projected lighting, sonorous musical numbers, ribald good humor and an army of misfit toys joyfully cast into a stew of hilarity and spectacle that had even the most hard-boiled theatergoers squirming in their seats with delight (this observation is not based in conjecture — there were a significant number of professional actors, as well as national theater authorities, in the audience for opening night, and your critic saw many of these often wintry pundits become positively giggly in the open air, as the evening light faded.) It's unusual to talk about scene and costume design before we get to the actors, but in this case, it's important to acknowledge not only Acebo, but also his partner in crime for the production, Dede M. Ayite. Ayite is a seasoned designer with a string of off-Broadway and regional design credits on her résumé, and it shows. The costuming in "The Wiz" is utterly sublime, referencing traditional Shakespeare (the Scarecrow, played with broad, Chris Tucker-style bombastic urbanity by J. Cameron Barnett, is dressed in pumpkin pants and a floppy hat, complete with feather) while also taking off on inspired flights of fancy into anthropoidal homages to H.R. Giger and weird, pseudo-Venetian bird masks that trip into territory explored by Stanley Kubrick in "Eyes Wide Shut." The Tinman (another triumphant performance from Rodney Gardiner, who is the kind of reliable meat-and-potatoes actor that repertory theatre dreams are made of) is a sassy and sympathetic character whose lack of a heart is amplified not only by exemplary acting, but also by a uniform that brings to mind that '80s cyborg made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Wiz himself, played by Jordan Barbour, is a sublime, haughty cross between Grace Jones and David Bowie. Resplendent in a glittering psychedelic cape and foot-high platform heels, Barbour nails his role to the wall. Flying monkeys are represented by black, silver, and grey-clad space opera hooligans. The courtiers of the Kingdom of Oz are decked out in what appears to be late-18th century French high couture that has been dipped into a cauldron of absinthe. Even the "yellow brick road" has been deconstructed, represented by a gleefully limber ensemble of actors, replete with gold sequins. All this eye candy aside, the performers are in top form. Ashley D. Kelly, as Dorothy, is the most plainly-dressed of the bunch, but she makes up for it with her powerful acting and sublime singing voice, filling the space and keeping the audience enthralled. Michele Mais, as Addaperle, is a tough downtown cookie with attitude to spare, belting through her short performance with aplomb. It's hard to spot any holes in this cast; every person on stage seems to be the hardest working actor in show business. Hell, even Toto (played variously by two non-equity pooches programmed as "Chaz" and "Spanky") got the crowd going gaga. Despite good work from all, the best performance of the night came from Christiana Clark, as the ("cowardly") Lion. Clark, in her third season at OSF, is excellent — she gets deep under the pelt of her character, showing us a lot more substance and subtlety than one might expect when watching a musical. Sometimes she's tough. Sometimes she's timid. Most of the time, she's a force to be reckoned with, as she deals with the very real problem of mustering courage sufficient to take on the world. Clark is a clever actor who knows just how to make us remember how we've all felt at one time or another when it comes to the problem of fear and how to overcome it. She walks the razor's edge, keeping things hilariously funny and saucy, but giving us just enough pathos to make her Lion the real hero of the night. Director Robert O'Hara has had a long love affair with "The Wiz", and his appreciation of the material is evident. With the help of his creative team, he has given us a fresh take on an old classic. OSF's "The Wiz" is right on the money. Click your heels three times, and take yourself there. —"The Wiz" runs through October 15th at the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. Ashland resident Jeffrey Gillespie is a Daily Tidings columnist, arts reviewer and freelance writer. Email him at gillespie.jeffrey @gmail.com. By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Jeffrey Gillespie For the Tidings Posted Jun. 19, 2016 at 6:36 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501