FYT’s “Oz” Bursts into the season with flair
The Flint Youth Theatre doesn’t shy away from big cast musicals, especially when they are shows that appeal to the younger crowd and please children as well as their parents.
This month, they’re bringing The Wizard of Oz to their main stage and it is full of the energy and bright colors that this theater is known for.
The company starts the experience in the lobby with a display of Wizard of Oz materials drawing from the books and the movies. For those who want to take a piece of the experience home with them, light-up wands are available to purchase after the show is over.
But the musical is the main attraction and FYT fills its stage with capable actors and a skilled tech team to manage all the special effects, sets and lighting. They also bring in a capable pit orchestra to keep the music going throughout the musical.
The director uses the classic script adapted from the movie by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. But it is definitely still the L. Frank Baum story with all the classic elements that people have come to know and love since the book was first published in 1900.
This production is directed by Lynn Lammers with choreography by Melanie Schott. They work well together, filling the stage with actors young and old. They keep the energy levels high and use multiple levels to keep the stage picture interesting. There were some exits that didn’t quite make it off stage quickly enough, but that was a minor quibble in a show where traffic control was mostly excellent.
They also made a few cuts that kept things going at a quick pace, with full appreciation for the attention spans of their young audiences.
Chloe LaFave-Hale is making her first appearance with FYT as Dorothy. She has a beautiful voice and excellent stage presence. She bursts onto the stage with Toto in an uproar that Miss Gultch is planning to take her dog to the sheriff. It’s an energy she keeps up throughout the show.
Her companions on the journey through Oz are bright and intense. Matt Coggins flops around the stage as the Scarecrow, making pratfalls with skill. LaTroy Childress moves robotically as the Tinman with a bit of jazz inspired by his costuming. Cathleen L. Arnold is a Cowardly Lion who roars with conviction and is equally convincing as a coward who howls her fear and shows it in her every move.
Each of those companions double as farm hands who inspire Dorothy’s dream if Oz is indeed a dream. In fact, everyone we meet in Kansas, we also meet in Oz under a different guise. The actors manage the quick changes with the elaborate costumes given them by Costumer Amber Marisa Cook.
Aunt Em switches from a farm outfit of the early 1900s to the elaborate light-up dress of Glinda, the Good witch. Elsa Harchick brings very different sides of a similar personality to the role, going from drab to scintillating.
Deirdre S. Baker plays the two wicked roles—Miss Gultch who wants to destroy Toto in Kansas to the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz who wants to destroy Dorothy and all her friends. She is menacing and threatening as both characters.
Mark Gmazel plays both Professor Marvel in Kansas and the Wizard in Oz. He has a great booming voice that works especially well for the Wizard, it’s one that leaves Dorothy and her friends trembling before him until they learn his secret. He was especially amusing as Professor Marvel and covered well when Toto jumped out of the basket to eat the hot dog he was roasting.
Gary L. Jones is endearing as the Emerald City Guard and as Uncle Henry. He gives a delightful introduction to the Emerald City and is a fitting ambassador to the Wizard.
Fifteen people make up the chorus being everything from Munchkins to Winkies to flying monkeys to trees and crows. They dance well and help to tell the classic story.
The crowd Saturday night was filled with children and they were held rapt by the storytelling. It’s a story that has been mesmerizing audiences since 1900 and this presentation continues the magic.