I was there tonight, and unfortunately I found the evening to be pretty bland, save for LaChanze. It's not horrible or anything, just very mediocre.
I know many here, including myself, were expecting the worst from Ashanti. She's FAR from the trainwreck I feared she might be, but she's merely serviceable in the role. Her singing is better than her acting, which is actually not very good. She has one or two facial expressions and absolutely zero charisma. She is stiff onstage and just doesn't have what it takes to hold the cast together.
It's funny because I got used to her voice and was starting to think it was pretty decent. Then LaChanze came out and sang "Believe In Yourself." When Ashanti started up "Home" it was a stark reminder that her singing wasn't actually all that strong.
Orlando Jones was kind of a mess as the Wiz. "So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard" was alright, but his act 2 song and speech giving out the brain, heart and courage were almost painful.
Tichina Arnold was especially disappointing as Evillene. She had all the attitude and nothing to back it up. I know it's hard to live up to Mabel King, but so many other people could have done a better job.
The Lion was the best of the three comrades Dorothy meets. The Tin Man had a great voice, but his tapping failed to wow. The scarecrow has the weakest of the three parts, and Christian Dante White didn't make all that much of an impression.
For the budget I thought the direction was strong and often clever. The way the orchestra was set up made the stage seem so tiny and there just wasn't a lot of room to work with. Still, Thomas Kail worked with what he had.
The audience was going crazy the entire show. Every single actor received entrance applause, and often exit applause. Obviously not quite so rowdy, but it almost reminded of [tos] enthusiasm. They had decided it was brilliant before stepping in the theater and were determined not to be disappointed.
Overall this is not a must-see, unless you adore the score and/or LaChanze.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
