The Wiz - July 01 matinee - LaChanze for half a show

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 6:32pm

So, I saw The Wiz today and I will keep my comments brief. The show started at about 2:20, with a preshow announcememnt stating that the role of Aunt Em would be played Darlesia Cearcy. LaChanze was there for Act two, and in spectacular voice, so I am unsure of what happened, but either way, it was a treat to see both of these ladies on stage and knocking it out of the park.

Ashanti is successful when she sings.. and only when she sings. Strolling around the stage like a third grader in a school play during the tornado and all drags the show to a screeching helt. Save her for a CD. There are COUNTELESS know and unknown girls would have knocked it out of the park.

The principals, aside from Ashanti, are great. The three friends shine, the witches were stand out... Coleman Domingo was a fun and over the top Wiz.

Kail's direction is serviceable.. I did feel that he took the word "black a little too literally". Where was the color??

Blankenbuehler should should by lynched for the choreography.. One trick pony is being kind to this one. What's worse is that it grinds the show to a hault each time.

I loved the set by David Korins. the man is really my favorite designer working today. Naturally, I wish there had been more of a set, but this IS Encores! I particularly liked Kansas.

Tazewell REALLY dropped the ball on the costumes... the worst were the crows, kahlidahs, yellow brick road, and monkeys.. all of which had NOTHINg to dow ith what they were supposed to be. tazewell and Blankenbuehler teamed up to slaughter the Munchkins as well.

Billington's lighting was very nice, especially from the front, dead center mezz.

ACME usually does fantastic sound work, but on this show, it was static filled and very off.

Cheers to Berloni for a wonderful, if sadly underused, Toto.

All in all, I will say that I had a GREAT time at the show, and the music sounded fantastic. The cast, over all, is strong and the set is wonderful. The problem lies in only two areas, for the most part, and they are far too critical to be left with such weak links - Dorothy and the choreography.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 6:59pm

I saw it, and I just don't get what's so great about the show. I mean, there were maybe three or four songs that I liked, but other than that I was just kind of bored with it. The choreography was either awkward (the girl coming out of the wings on the backs of the two guys) or just boring and unimaginative. The tornado was cool, but a little too static. The actors were fine (with the exception of Ashanti and Jones), but the whole show was just boring. I wasn't interested and I didn't care. Ashanti sounded wonderful, and the price of admission was worth hearing her sing her two big songs, but other than that it was just sort like "who cares?" Like the whole "Be a Lion" song. It just felt so uneeded because there was no feeling behind it or no inspiration for the song. I hope this doesn't transfer in its current condition.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 8:57pm

The show is really a period piece. It was such a big deal back then because the African American Theater movement was taking place. I forget what article I was reading, but it talked about this idea that when Glinda sang "Believe in Yourself", it was almost as if she was also nodding to the African Americans who faced racist issues. The show was more focused on rising against oppressive odds and finding everything you need to know to be home WITHIN you. The movie didn't really touch on that, but The Wiz does.

"Home isn't just a place where you eat or sleep, child. Home is knowing. Home is knowing your mind, your heart, your courage. As long we know ourselves, we're always home..."

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/1/09 at 10:41pm

I too was at today's matinee and wondered why LaChanze skipped Act One but showed up (in spectacular voice) for Act Two--especially considering she has less than ten minutes of stage time and only one song in the first act. Maybe she got stuck in traffic. Anyway, as great as LaChanze is, I can't imagine anyone belting out "The Feeling We Once Had" better than Darlesia Cearcey. She has quite a set of pipes.

Aside from LaChanze and Dawnn Lewis (hilarious), the performance was DOA. The show has been up for less than three weeks and most of the principles were walking through it like it'd been playing for years.

[ceeejaye]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 6:42am

HI guys
Remember LaChanze did the role of Sarah in the out of town try outs prior to going to Broadway.

Some auditions were held yesterday with Stephen Flaherty.
And interesting enough, LaChanze missed her first song in the WIZ yesterday. But she was there for her last two songs.

Is there a connection, did she audition. She does have a history with the Stephen and Lynn.

LaChanze was GREAT!

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 9:00am

Was at the matinee as well yesterday. I thought it was just kind of bleh. I was thinking to myself with some of the lines like, "How is that funny?"

The audience was loving it as well. I thought my friend and I were the only ones in there who weren't too excited.

In the tornado ballet Ashanti literally looked like she was marking everything and didn't know what she was doing. I actually thought tornado scene could of been good, because I liked the dancing.

And, was is that hard to get a yellow brick road? The part where they built out the road for Ashanti with like 3 yellow blocks? Ashanti had to stop and wait for them to move the blocks.

Arnold as Evelyn stole the show. She brought some light to the production. I really liked her.

Is it bad that I didn't know the difference between Lachanze and her understudy? I had no idea she was on for the second act.

Anyways, I paid 15 bucks for my ticket, and I could see a movie with that. Whatever, I would pay 15 bucks but not a dime more than that.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 9:06am

Go Darlesia! Saw her in a tour of JCS in 2005, and she was a better Mary than Natalie Toro. Knocked the walls down. You go girl!

[logan0215]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 10:56am

"The Wiz" played from 1975-1979.

The film came out in 1978 and had Dorothy living in Harlem.

The Civil Rights Movement peaked (edited) by 1968.

I think the quote you're speaking of is:

In his review of the 1984 revival, Frank Rich wrote: "What made The Wiz surprisingly moving the first time around was that its creators found a connection between Baum's Kansas fantasy and the pride of urban black Americans. When Glinda, the good witch, musically instructed Dorothy to believe in herself, she seemed to be delivering a broader inspirational message. The Wiz was hardly a great musical in 1975, but it had something to say, and it said it with verve and integrity. It's depressing to watch a once-fervent expression of black self-respect and talent be spilled on the stage as if it were a trunkload of marked-down, damaged goods."

Which makes no mention of the civil rights movement but of the struggle of urban black Americans.
Updated On: 7/2/09 at 10:56 AM

[zepka102]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 10:57am

It's kind of upsetting how Andy is a one-trick pony. It worked perfectly for In the Heights, was tolerable for 9 to 5, but I think I would get tired of it if I saw The Wiz. Too bad he doesn't incorporate more things... it can get boring watching the same moves over and over.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 11:15am

"The Civil Rights Movement piqued by 1968".

Well, I'm pretty sure it "piqued" quite a few long before that (there was even a war about it). I think you meant "peaked".

While we're at it, could we re-think the use of the word "lynched" as regards to proper punishment for what you perceive as poor choreography in an African-American musical? Hyperbolic not to mention offensive.

Why was La Chanze allowed to go on after missing Act 1? I'm guessing the answer is "because she's LaChanze", but that doesn't seem fair to the understudy. Also, why did they cast Orlando when he couldn't commit to such a short run?

Updated On: 7/2/09 at 11:15 AM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 2:02pm

Wow. I apoligize. Truth be told, when writing my post, that connotation didn't enter my mind. Whether that is good or bad, I leave up to, but I wasn't at all thinking of a connection.


Having had a day to sit on it, I must say that the three strongest impressions, on the good side of things, that I am left with are Darlesia Ceary's Aunt Em, Tichina Arnold's Evillene and David Korins' Kansas set (which I am more than happy to describe for those who haven't seen it).

The montage during the overture, introducing all of the Oz characters as Kansas people, is leaving more and more of a bad taste in my mouth. While I can appreciate the wink and nudge to the MGM Oz incarnation, it was entirely inappropriate here, completely changing EVERYTHING about teh story and what follows. MGM's "dream" concept is the main thorn in the side for many an Oz purist, and one that I fully understand. The Wiz is based in Baum's novel and Baum envisioned Oz as a true, REAL place - and one where Dorothy, Em and Henry eventually reloacate to. It isn't a dream.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 2:26pm

It was more the hyperbolic aspect of the term that bothered me than its political incorrectness. I would have been just as annoyed if you'd used the term "lynched" when speaking of Legally Blond's choreographer. I also dislike it when people say such and such a show is an "abortion" or a "rape" of material. It cheapens the actuality of those words and events. In any case, if I can accept it - and I'm not sure I'm qualified - apology accepted.

Thanks for the reviews, though. I'm not able to see this version.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 2:42pm

Also, why did they cast Orlando when he couldn't commit to such a short run?

it's my understanding that he didn't find out the pilot he filmed was picked up until after he was cast and rehearsals had started. although I know a lot of people here might ask why he was cast when he wasn't really that good.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 2:59pm

THAT was the quote I was thinking about, but I don't think I mentioned the Civil Rights movement? I mentioned the oppression and racist issues African Americans struggled against. After the Civil Rights movement, there came a plethora of African American works including RAISIN: the Musical (1973) and lots of Amiri Baraka goodness (Slave Ship).