“Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!” A Wizard of Oz Review
Alexandra Gomez
February 18, 2010
Filed under Fine Arts, Fine Arts Feature, Top Stories
There’s no place like home,” and there will never be another play quite like this one, a dazzling fantasy musical so beautifully directed by Lisa Flay and acted by elementary and secondary students that it deserves its classic status on CCA’s “best plays list.”
From silly scarecrows, to less than flexible tin men, to cowardly lions, “The Wizard of Oz,” left its audience in a state of wonder. Even minutes after the first scene, when we were still in Kansas with its black and white theme, the audience’s reaction to the acting, the sets, and special effects was apparent. “I can’t believe this is a school production,” said one spectator, while another didn’t miss the opportunity during the show’s 15-minute intermission to spread the word via text with four simple words: “Come see the show!”
The land of Oz was expertly brought to the Calvary Chapel Theatre on January 28 through 31 to a sold out crowd. Students worked hard before and behind the scenes, delivering the all-time classic lines, plus well designed, colorful sets, and special effects right on cue, including Toto, the adorable little dog played by Angel Vazquez. That took precision, but more than anything, it took collaboration from everyone involved in the show. “I think the way that the first and the twelfth graders worked together as one body to pull this off was the greatest part of the production,” said CCA Fine Arts Director, Tim Flay.
The story unfolds as Dorothy, played superbly by Junior, Erika Toderic, finds herself “somewhere over the rainbow” and into the new and exciting land of Oz, where she meets cute little munchkins (elementary/middle school students), the nasty Wicked Witch of the West (Kim Kelly), and her new friends: Scarecrow (Taylor Hecocks), Tin Man (Jordan Glindomrong), and the Cowardly Lion (David Greenberg). Glinda, the Good Witch, (Suzi Trick) sends Dorothy on a quest to find the Wizard of Oz (Ben Sturman) in Emerald City, by way of the yellow brick road. But the journey is not without dangers; the Wicked Witch of the West makes sure of it.
The story has a happy ending though, as Dorothy discovers that the power to go home was always with her, in her red slippers. This musical was funny, colorful, excellently done, but more than anything, it was a great gospel message to all people. “I would rate this play five stars for the awesome talent of the performers, the creativity, and the biblical referencing. It was all amazing,” said Cathryn Knapp, a CCA student. “Dorothy was right, there is no place like home. Just like there is nothing like Jesus Christ. He is the one who takes us home, ” added Abby Summers, another CCA student.
“We have little directors notes in everything that we do, and in those directors notes, we write what the story has been about from our Christian perspective,” said Tim Flay. “The truth is we are not in Kansas anymore; we are in the real world. But for Dorothy, that journey home is what it is all about. And for most of us, that voyage home is what it is all about. When Dorothy found herself in Oz, she had a path that she had to take. It was quite a journey, and on that journey she encountered many dangers, and many perils. But no matter what she did, even if it was to try to find her way home in a wizard that was a fraud, she found her way home—in a pair of ruby slippers. And for many of us, we have found our journey, on that red, ruby blood that was shed for us so that we could know of our eternal home sweet home.”
At the end of the last act, the audience was left with a simple message: home in Jesus Christ is not far, not far at all. We just have to know where to look.