"When it opens in New York City, you can say you saw it in Chemainus".

By Brian Wilford
Cowichan Valley Citizen

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Chemainus for musical theatre at its best!

Go see the Chemainus Theatre Festival's production of The Wizard of Oz. It's a hoot. It's bright, it's fun, it's entertaining and you can't help but leave the theatre humming one of this musical's wonderful songs.

Those of you who have seen the movie created from L. Frank Baum's American fairy tales are probably thinking: "It just doesn't translate into live theatre." Well, it does and it does because of some incredibly creative, imaginative and intelligent staging.

CTF Artistic Director Jeremy Tow says he and his design team worked for nearly a year on staging Oz. It shows. When the audience walks in, they're looking at something unusual for a CTF stage: drab brown, with drab brown hanging panels. This is The Wizard of Oz? But through the wizardry of stagecraft, it all comes alive, from drab, brown Kansas to the Munchkins to the Emerald City. It's not every day a theatre company's production team deserves top billing above the actors -and the actors are very, very good - but it really is magical how the lighting, the sound and the shifting of a couple of panels can create a tornado, a sunny day on the Yellow Brick Road, the door to the Emerald City and a scary visit to the forest castle of the wicked witch.

The costumes are rich and colourful. The Munchkins are just people with downcast eyes with expressive masks on their breastbones. It works wonderfully. Toto is a puppet, one of several in the play created by Puppet Director Jeny Cassady. They blend in seamlessly with the humans.

Speaking of the humans, it's incredible when they come out to take a bow, but there are only 13 of them. One assumes there must be several dozen at least but that's just more magical stagecraft and Velcro costume changes.

This is a very seasoned troupe Tow has assembled for this production so there's no point beating about the bush: they are excellent. There are no clunckers, no weak voices, no awkward moments. Alison MacDonald makes a fabulous Dorothy and her team of Lindsay Sterk (Scarecrow), Mark DuMez (Tin Man) and Andrew Legg (Lion) do great homage to the originals. Norma Bowen is suitably scary as Miss Gultch and the Wicked Witch of the West. Samantha McKenna is sweet and serene as Aunt Em and the good witch Glinda. Neil Gallagher plays a great buffoon as Professor Marvel and the Wizard of Oz. Just about all the actors, with the exception of Alison MacDonald as Dorothy, who's onstage for pretty much the entire play, are in the 'Ensemble', meaning they're also Munchkins, soldiers, cornstalks, apple trees, flying monkeys and more.

Usually they don't get a mention. In this case, it would be a shame not to.

This is musical theatre at its best, all the more so because it's suitable for young and old. If you're saving up your theatre pennies, spend them on this one. When it opens in New York City, you can say you saw it in Chemainus.

The Wizard of Oz runs until Sept. 11 and there's a great buffet dinner before each show. Call the box office at 1-800-565-7738 or 246-9820.