By Brian Pope
Can you name a place more magical than the emerald-spangled, poppy-pink land of Oz where witches, wizards, and munchkins (Oh my!) call home? It’s a place where not only the fantastical imagination of L. Frank Baum resides but also that of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Arthur Conan Doyle, and many more. On the map of this place, you’ll find Wonderland, Neverland, and the nine circles of Hell.
Admittedly, I’m not great at solving or making riddles, so excuse me for being overly cryptic. The awesome place I’m referring to is called the public domain. The creators of Midnight Radio’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—skillful adapter Lissa Brennan, whimsical director Jeffrey Carpenter, and reliably ambitious Bricolage Production Company—clearly know it quite well.
In the public domain, classic works of literature lie in waiting for artists, like those I mentioned along with clever Musical Director Deana Muro and a versatile quintet of performers, to breathe exciting new life into them. The sky is truly the limit for works in the public domain. They can be adapted into anything from movies to musicals to miniseries (Oh my again!).
But when it comes to Bricolage, the choice for how to translate Baum’s work must have been obvious. For over a decade, the innovative company has cast Pittsburgh audiences as the studio audiences in 1940’s-era live radio broadcast retellings of well-loved stories like Die Hard, Frankenstein, and A Christmas Story (Oh my…Okay, I’ll stop now) complete with commercial breaks and flashing “Applause” and “On Air” signs. This Oz is a feast for the ears as much as it is for the brain and heart.
Sam Lothard is ON AIR in Bricolage’s latest
It cannot be overstated that, while the iconic 1939 movie might be the ultimate Oz adaptation (Sorry, Wicked), here Ms. Brennan’s script is based on Baum’s original children’s book. In one cheeky moment you may hear echoes of the melody of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” but in this version, our heroine Dorothy’s (sweet and spunky Julianne Avolio) shoes are silver rather than ruby.
She’s still carried away from her simple life in Kansas by a tornado. She still lands in Oz where the house she flies in on does to the Wicked Witch of the East what an asteroid did to the dinosaurs. Despite the warm, if not slightly perturbed greetings from Glinda the Good Witch and the munchkins of Munchkinland, Dorothy still desperately wants to go home.
Julianne Avolio front and center as the spritely Dorothy
On her journey down the Yellow Brick Road to see the titular wonderful one who can grant her wish, she meets and is soon joined by a trio of friends with big wishes of their own. The characterizations of these sidekicks are where the actors and Ms. Brennan’s adaptation shine brightest.
Nancy McNulty’s brainless Scarecrow isn’t simply dumb. He’s naive and hilariously uninhibited. Jason McCune’s heartless Tin Man is emotionally hardened, even a little ruthless, and hungry to feel true love once again. Sam Lothard’s cowardly Lion’s anxiety is truly palpable, even if the jokes about his lack of bladder control wear out their welcome quickly.
Nancy McNulty’s wildly unrepressed Scarecrow
They are all as silly and complex as live action cartoons can and should be. The catchy refrains that introduce them in the movie might be missing but this trio more than makes up for that by maintaining and finessing each character’s signature physicality.
Rounding out the cast is Lisa Ann Goldsmith, who chews Hank Bullington’s faithful and effective scenery with devious aplomb playing Aunt Em, Glinda, and the Wicked Witch of the West.
The real star of this production is undoubtedly the sound. If there’s any curtain I would advise you not to look behind, it would be your own eyelids. Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Muro, and Sound Engineer Brendan Kepple’s vivid soundscape allows for this Oz not to lose any of its richness whether you’re watching the “broadcast” with your eyes open or closed. Instruments, audio effects, and found objects like slide whistles and drills are used in consistently surprising ways to set, change, and heighten each scene. Whether it’s the screechy call of the flying monkeys, the skipping stride of Dorothy’s slippers down the Yellow Brick Road, or the pulsing flames of the Wizard’s hot air balloon, the sound design is remarkable to behold and be heard.
Mr. Carpenter could almost be billed as conductor for this production. His efficient blocking allows the actors to move about the space from mini foley booth to mini foley booth to highlight the characters in a particular scene without any confusion when it comes to those who play multiple roles. We don’t physically see the obstacles (a wide gorge and the aforementioned flying monkeys) our heroes face on their way to the Wizard, but the powerful imaginations of the cast and director are quite contagious.
Given the sonic and theatrical delights of this particular episode of Midnight Radio, I’m almost ashamed to admit that it was my first. But I’ll absolutely make sure to stop kicking myself for missing it in the past just in time to catch the next one.
Midnight Radio’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz plays through April 14. For tickets and more information, click here.
Photography Credit: Handerson Gomes
Brian Pope is a playwright and pop culture obsessive who has been writing for Pittsburgh in the Round since February of 2016. His plays have been produced by his own theatre company, Non-State Actors, as well as Yinz Like Plays?!, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. He’s also served as dramaturg for City Theatre’s 2018 Young Playwrights Festival and as both stage manager and actor for Alarum Theatre. When he’s not making or reviewing theatre, he’s actively pursuing his other passions, listening to showtunes and watching television.
Categories: Archived Reviews