#1
Posted: 9/25/06 at 5:50pm
It looks like the last one didn't work properly so I will try again. If it did work then just delete this one...
I am an awful review writer so I will give it my best shot.
The recent revival of The Wiz at the La Jolla Playhouse is not a revival, it is as Des McAnuff calls it a "Revisal". The La Jolla
m sure this is nothing like the original but it was pretty cool. The house sprung up and started tturning and moving up and down while a bunch of people in black come out and start dancing like crazy, then they come out and they have cows and pigs attached to what looked like fishing poles and they swung those around so it looked like they were flying. And then came what I thought was the coolest part of the show. In the back of the stage a lady in pink on a skateboard all of a sudden started to levitate and spin around multiple times.
He's The Wizard- The number is one of my favorite in the show. Addeperele is played by a white woman, but that makes the role ten times more funny. She tries to act more "ghetto?" (I am not sure what the proper term is). The whole bit was halarious. My favorite line of hers was "My name does start with ADD for a reason". This was sung with her in munchkin land. The munchkins look kind of like FERBYS? and some are real and some are puppets attached to them, although from far back you would not be able to tell.
Soon As I get Home- I don't remember it very well. I think it was just her standing their singing.
I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday- This number is great. When the scarecrow falls off of his post, he falls onto a trampoline and jumps up a few times. Then the plants around him come alive and it is a really fun number, which includes a trio of crows singing, and crows flying down around the stage.
Ease on Down the Road- It was nothing special, they ran through the theater with TOTO (who is played by a dog in kansas and in oz he is played by a human on those shoes with roller skates, and a video camera attached to his head for TOTO CAM)
Slide Some Oil To Me- This number was OK. It was very bland, nothing spectacular about it. Although the tinman's costume is amazing. It is a bunch of scraps of metal that are melted onto his costume (a keyboard, cd player, light switch etc.) The coreography resembled "The Robot"
Mean Ole Lion- The set for this number was Titus (the Lion) and a bunch of trash cans that made him look like he was living on the street) While he was singing, people popped out of the trash can and became the chorus. Titus is by far the star of the show.
Kalidah Battle- This was two GIANT monsters on those springy shoe things called Caladors. They chased them around the stage, jumping up and doing tricks and then fell in the pit in the middle of the stage (the stage opens and closes in the middle which is where the set comes from)
Be a Lion- Nikki and Titus NAILED this number. It starts of with Dorothy singing to Lion, and then bridges come down and they cross onto the bridges which are 8 ft. high, and then tinman, scarecrow, and toto join him up there. This song prob. got the biggest applaud of the night.
Lion's Dream- This number was...special. The number started off with Lion running into a "drug dealer" who says "From Afganistan" and then the poppies come out and take lion in. The stage starts spinning while Lion goes in the middle and dances with the lead poppy (Valerie Petitford (sp?))...until the cops come and take him away and all the poppies run.
Emerald City Ballet- It isn't very much of a BALLET. OZ is a disco club where they are all dancing, so the ballet is more of a hip hop dance.
So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard- Nothing special, David Alan Grier pops out of a giant disco ball and sings to them!
To Be Able to Feel (What Would I Do If I Could Feel)- This song was sung by all four friends from differnt parts of the stage
Act Two opens with the winkies dumping water into a well, and they come out from all areas. Evillene's Castle is a giant sponge (green on top, yellow on bottom)
No Bad News- Evillene singing with the winkies doing some wierd dance around her (the winkies look like little roaches)
Funky Monkeys- THe Monkeys flying around and dancing with the black hand things that Jackie Chan uses in all his movies with the chain link attaching them
Everybody Rejoice- The biggest dissapointment in the whole show. In brief, the Winkies rip off their closed to reveal themselves in short white shirts and tanktops (with the midriff showing on girls) and they go behind what looks like white streamers to pretend they were showering, while some were in a "hot tub" in the middle of the stage. The only good part was when TOTO did some MAJOR breakdancing.
To be honest at this point I got pretty tired and the show kept stopping (I didn't fall asleep) so I don't remember a chunk of songs here.
Y'all Got It!- If I remember correctly in this song The Wiz takes off his robe (he is cleaning his disco ball when Dorothy and friends return) and he gets in a giant green jump suit and leaves...
Believe in Yourself- Glinda singing and then the OZIANS from different parts of the stage...
Glinda- She flew in on the back of the stage and sang her songs while singing.
Home- Dorothy singing downstage and clicking her shoes
The strongest person in the cast was by far Titus. He nailed every part of that role (THE LION). He has a nice silver manicure and he is just halarious in every single thing he does.
The lady who played Evillene had not much of a part, except for everytime they said her name she appeared in another part of the theater and yelled.
Nikki- She has a gorgeous voice, played a very sweet lovable Dorothy. I have no complaints, she was really just spectacular.
One noticable difference between her Dorothy and others is that normally Dorothy seems most connected to the Scarecrow, I felt that Dorothy felt most connected to the Lion. That is just a thought.
If you would like any details on sets and costumes feel free to ask! (It might take a day for me to get back to you)
Edit: They added this whole thing where the witch can only be talked about using the name WWW or W3. This is without a doubt referring to George W. Bush
I am an awful review writer so I will give it my best shot.
The recent revival of The Wiz at the La Jolla Playhouse is not a revival, it is as Des McAnuff calls it a "Revisal". The La Jolla
m sure this is nothing like the original but it was pretty cool. The house sprung up and started tturning and moving up and down while a bunch of people in black come out and start dancing like crazy, then they come out and they have cows and pigs attached to what looked like fishing poles and they swung those around so it looked like they were flying. And then came what I thought was the coolest part of the show. In the back of the stage a lady in pink on a skateboard all of a sudden started to levitate and spin around multiple times.
He's The Wizard- The number is one of my favorite in the show. Addeperele is played by a white woman, but that makes the role ten times more funny. She tries to act more "ghetto?" (I am not sure what the proper term is). The whole bit was halarious. My favorite line of hers was "My name does start with ADD for a reason". This was sung with her in munchkin land. The munchkins look kind of like FERBYS? and some are real and some are puppets attached to them, although from far back you would not be able to tell.
Soon As I get Home- I don't remember it very well. I think it was just her standing their singing.
I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday- This number is great. When the scarecrow falls off of his post, he falls onto a trampoline and jumps up a few times. Then the plants around him come alive and it is a really fun number, which includes a trio of crows singing, and crows flying down around the stage.
Ease on Down the Road- It was nothing special, they ran through the theater with TOTO (who is played by a dog in kansas and in oz he is played by a human on those shoes with roller skates, and a video camera attached to his head for TOTO CAM)
Slide Some Oil To Me- This number was OK. It was very bland, nothing spectacular about it. Although the tinman's costume is amazing. It is a bunch of scraps of metal that are melted onto his costume (a keyboard, cd player, light switch etc.) The coreography resembled "The Robot"
Mean Ole Lion- The set for this number was Titus (the Lion) and a bunch of trash cans that made him look like he was living on the street) While he was singing, people popped out of the trash can and became the chorus. Titus is by far the star of the show.
Kalidah Battle- This was two GIANT monsters on those springy shoe things called Caladors. They chased them around the stage, jumping up and doing tricks and then fell in the pit in the middle of the stage (the stage opens and closes in the middle which is where the set comes from)
Be a Lion- Nikki and Titus NAILED this number. It starts of with Dorothy singing to Lion, and then bridges come down and they cross onto the bridges which are 8 ft. high, and then tinman, scarecrow, and toto join him up there. This song prob. got the biggest applaud of the night.
Lion's Dream- This number was...special. The number started off with Lion running into a "drug dealer" who says "From Afganistan" and then the poppies come out and take lion in. The stage starts spinning while Lion goes in the middle and dances with the lead poppy (Valerie Petitford (sp?))...until the cops come and take him away and all the poppies run.
Emerald City Ballet- It isn't very much of a BALLET. OZ is a disco club where they are all dancing, so the ballet is more of a hip hop dance.
So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard- Nothing special, David Alan Grier pops out of a giant disco ball and sings to them!
To Be Able to Feel (What Would I Do If I Could Feel)- This song was sung by all four friends from differnt parts of the stage
Act Two opens with the winkies dumping water into a well, and they come out from all areas. Evillene's Castle is a giant sponge (green on top, yellow on bottom)
No Bad News- Evillene singing with the winkies doing some wierd dance around her (the winkies look like little roaches)
Funky Monkeys- THe Monkeys flying around and dancing with the black hand things that Jackie Chan uses in all his movies with the chain link attaching them
Everybody Rejoice- The biggest dissapointment in the whole show. In brief, the Winkies rip off their closed to reveal themselves in short white shirts and tanktops (with the midriff showing on girls) and they go behind what looks like white streamers to pretend they were showering, while some were in a "hot tub" in the middle of the stage. The only good part was when TOTO did some MAJOR breakdancing.
To be honest at this point I got pretty tired and the show kept stopping (I didn't fall asleep) so I don't remember a chunk of songs here.
Y'all Got It!- If I remember correctly in this song The Wiz takes off his robe (he is cleaning his disco ball when Dorothy and friends return) and he gets in a giant green jump suit and leaves...
Believe in Yourself- Glinda singing and then the OZIANS from different parts of the stage...
Glinda- She flew in on the back of the stage and sang her songs while singing.
Home- Dorothy singing downstage and clicking her shoes
The strongest person in the cast was by far Titus. He nailed every part of that role (THE LION). He has a nice silver manicure and he is just halarious in every single thing he does.
The lady who played Evillene had not much of a part, except for everytime they said her name she appeared in another part of the theater and yelled.
Nikki- She has a gorgeous voice, played a very sweet lovable Dorothy. I have no complaints, she was really just spectacular.
One noticable difference between her Dorothy and others is that normally Dorothy seems most connected to the Scarecrow, I felt that Dorothy felt most connected to the Lion. That is just a thought.
If you would like any details on sets and costumes feel free to ask! (It might take a day for me to get back to you)
Edit: They added this whole thing where the witch can only be talked about using the name WWW or W3. This is without a doubt referring to George W. Bush
Updated On: 11/19/06 at 05:50 PM
