KAYSVILLE — Hopebox Theatre, with Kaysville City, brings a community favorite to life with the musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz at the Davis High School auditorium. Based on the famous book by L. Frank Baum, the production features the film’s iconic music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, with background music by Herbert Stothart.
Directed by Amy Turner, the production offers a heartfelt, but mixed experience. While it treats audiences to high-energy musical numbers and plenty of community charm, there are moments in the staging which lacked the same momentum and energy.
Performances
Laryn Welch, playing Dorothy, shows frustration and fear in the opening scenes trying to protect Toto (a lively little dog for these opening scenes) from Miss Gulch. Welch delivers a nice rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” capturing the hope and wonder of a young girl. Her vocal control was well done. When Dorothy arrives in Oz, Welch acts in childlike wonder in meeting so many fantastical characters.
The bond between Welch, Colin Schmidt (Scarecrow), Matty Boyd (Tinman), and Andrew Stone (Lion) felt genuine during their adventure. However, an early musical cue right when Dorothy says her goodbyes was unfortunate, as it accidentally undercut a sweet moment.
Michael Fee also does nice work as the Wizard, bringing a witty delivery while rewarding each character with their desired brain, heart, and courage. LaShae Steele was sweet and lovely and a nice contrast to Brittany Paskett’s Wicked Witch. Paskett’s entrance onstage as the Wicked Witch of the West was a great escalation of her milder alter ego, the grouchy Miss Gulch. Paskett was a delight watching as she relished in villainy during scenes antagonizing Dorothy and friends.
Director Turner does make a confusing staging decision in the finale. As Dorothy begins her closing monologue, concluding with “Oh, Auntie Em, there’s no place like home”, every other character, including Aunt Em, has walked off stage so the delivery is Dorothy alone onstage. It’s an odd way to finish a show centered thematically around Dorothy returning home to her family. I suspect their exit was to allow the cast time to don their Ozian alter ego costumes for the curtain call.
High-Energy Musical Highlights
The musical numbers are the strongest element. Each rendition of “If I Only Had a…” was a delight. Schmidt interacts well with the crow puppets appearing on stage and flops like a rag doll as the Scarecrow. Boyd’s Tin Man gives a slightly different ballad-like energy singing his wish to “only have a heart,” and Anthony Stone may be playing the cowardly Lion, but his strong voice is confident during “If I Only Had the Nerve.” Stone’s performance of “If I Were King of the Forest” is highly enjoyable as he balances vocals and comedic timing nicely.
The Munchkin ensemble joins Glinda for a wonderfully executed performance of “Ding, Dong! The Witch is Dead.” The choreography by Kelsey Turner and Kayley Turner was perfectly in sync and appropriately highlighted the skills of the ensemble cast. Another musical highlight was the “Jitterbug,” a high-energy song cut from the original film that gave the ensemble a perfect opportunity to showcase their infectious stage energy.
Costumes and Technical Projections
The costumes by Ashley Collins Dowse are well done. Keeping the Kansas opening in muted, beige, gingham colors makes the technicolor transition into magical Oz much more impactful. It is fun when Dorothy steps out into Munchkinland wearing her bright blue gingham dress and then adds the ruby slippers. Glinda’s sparkly pink dress, reminiscent of Glinda’s seen in the Wicked film, is a dazzling beautiful costume confection. The “Poppies” number used great ensemble costumes with a striking deep poppy red skirt and an dark black lacy top accessorized with an elegant petal-like red hat.
However, the background projections designed by Bryson Wanner and Amy Turner felt out of sync. The opening scene projection was in full color, including a blue sky, and did not match the color scheme of the physical sets and costumes while in Kansas.
Then, during the twister sequence, the stage lighting by TJ Bettolo creates a great chaotic effect with strobe lights and spinning gobos, yet the digital projection in the back looks disconnected as it remains unchanged with the static clear blue sky. Turning off the projection completely during this sequence might be a better choice. A similar disconnect is when Dorothy enters the forest and is afraid of “lions and tigers and bears.” The projection shows a sunny feel breaking through the trees rather than spooky darkness.
On a positive note, the projection of the twister taking Dorothy to Oz is fun and entertaining transition using a variety of random animals picked up and includes Miss Gulch transforming into the Wicked Witch.
Scenic Elements and Scale
The stage at the Davis High School auditorium is massive compared to Hopebox Theatre’s usual cozy stage. The set pieces designed by Amy Turner, Curtis Dalton, Jessie Tyska, and Emma Hale are well made. They feature hand painted panels rotating to show the forest, Munchkin City, and the Emerald City and a yellow low raised platform for the yellow brick road.
Unfortunately, during scenes with just Dorothy and her friends, the actors look swallowed up by the expanse of empty space that the physical sets aren’t large enough to fill in the background. Part of the joy and energy of the musical numbers is in filling the stage with the great ensemble dressed in a variety of bright, colorful costumes.
Conclusion
Like all Hopebox Theatre productions, this run features a “Wall of Hope” recipient, Holly Elliott. A portion of the ticket proceeds and all direct donations support Elliott in her struggle with cancer. The production is an example of “good deed doers” in alignment with the character growth of The Wizard of Oz. The dedication and soul of these community players shines.
Overall, this production of The Wizard of Oz has good community charm and a pleasant atmosphere. The performance runs until 10:00 PM for the evening performances, so the Saturday matinees are a nice alternative for younger children. While the projections and staging choices are not the strongest, the high-energy songs bring brightness and heart. As a summer community show, it’s a nice choice to celebrate an iconic American musical with a great deal of heart and purpose.
MORE INFO: THE WIZARD OF OZ is currently playing at Davis High School Auditorium (325 Main St, Kaysville, UT 84037) presented by Hopebox Theatre with Kaysville City. Performances are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through July 18th at 7:30pm. Matinees are 2:00pm on Saturdays. Tickets range from $13 to $16 and the auditorium is open seating. For more information visit https://www.hopeboxtheatre.com/.
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