TheWizard of Oz
is
a complete triumph!
Reviewed by Don Gillis, January 24, 2003
Bay Colony Productions has once again provided a professional production of a very difficult technical show to produce. Director, Bill Cunningham has to be congratulated for this fine piece of musical theater.!
Technical effects and scenes changes alone are a challenge in this production which has numerous scenes that have to be done rather quickly for the story to flow. Bill, and his production staff, from Set Designer, David DaCosta, to Special Effects guru, Kevin Mischley; they ALL make this play work. Wizard of Oz is primarily well known through the 1939 movie version with Judy Garland. Everyone that comes to see Wizard of Oz will at some point be reminded of the movie and there are not a lot of people I know that have not seen this story. So, I am going to dispense with a synopsis of the story and focus this review on the wonderful TALENT that I saw on this Orpheum Theater Stage. In the leading female role as Dorothy, Nicole Davis shines and I mean SHINES!.. She has the opening number, "Over The Rainbow" and belts it out with gusto, much to the audience's pleasure. Nicole has all the right reflections, body language and talent to make you believe that she is Dorothy. Her stage presence is remarkable, and one believes throughout that she IS Dorothy. She and her wonderful dog Toto are delightful to watch, along with her friends.
Her friends are numerous in this production and all of them were very professional in their roles. There are several standout performances in this production in my opinion. The scarecrow, played by Michael Warner was truly a pleasure to watch, and had a delightful scene singing "If I Only Had A Brain "with Dorothy in the beginning when they first meet. Michael also played one of the farm hands in the Kansas city farmhouse where this play begins. Along with Michael, there is Brian Gustafson, the Tinman. Brian was wonderful in his role, and the silver makeup and costume was so realistic. Brian certainly did a great job, and his physical presence was prominent. His song "If I Only Had A Heart" will please you! Of course, who could forget the Cowardly Lion, played so aptly by Jeff Mahoney. His rendition of " King of the Forest" was a show stopper. Jeff has lots of energy which is evident in this production.. His "courage" scenes are dynamic.
A special mention must be made of D.B. Kozar's character portrayal of The Wicked Witch. D.B. is a male, in a female role, which worked so well. His black costume with the wide witches hat was just as you expect the witch to look like. When Dorothy threw the water at him; he "melted" on stage right in front of your eyes. It is a genius stage presentation done using fog and a trap door that make it work. You will be amazed! D.B. also was the Costume Designer for this show.
***** CORRECTED COPY
***** Orpheum Production Manager, Michael J. Teixeira, was instrumental in lighting and special effects for this production. His contribution was
invaluable and I want my readers to know that without his talents this show
would not have been as wonderful as it was.
The Munchkinland characters were great ..... ahhh those wonderful kids - The Munchkins...what talent!. I cannot name them all, due to disk space, but they were all so good!.
The choreography in the show caught this reviewer ( I have choreographed shows also), so Marianne Lonati' s dance numbers were a pleasure to behold - especially the Jitterbug number - it was awesome!. She also had some extremely talented dancers providing us with great visual effects in many sections of the show.
There are 66 people in this production - all whom gave 100% to make this a remarkable musical achievement. I could go on and on praising all of the cast, but suffice it to say; ALL were magnificent!!
Congratulations are in order for Bill Boyer, Producer, and Bill Cunningham, Director. And that wonderful musical director, Robert J. Goldman, and the rest of the Production Crew; hats off to you for a fine musical treat! Do not miss this wonderful show!!
Call 508-543-ARTS (2787) to order your tickets. Shows are on Jan.24th, 25th, 26th, 31st, Feb.1st & 2nd.
Don Gillis
Little Rhody TheaterTHE WIZARD OF OZ
BAY COLONY PRODUCTIONS
Orpheum Regional Performing Arts Center
1 School Street
Foxborough, MA
.