Theatre--Review

The Iberia Performing Arts League is presenting The Wizard Of Oz at the Essanee Theatre on Iberia Street in New Iberia. Directed and written by Leigh Simmons, this production uses the score from the 1939 MGM film starring Judy Garland. Generally faithful to the original script, this production does have some interpolated lines. Still, it is basically the film on stage and if you love the film you will enjoy this production. The most significant change to the show is that the director has cast different people as the farm hands and Miss Gulch than the actors playing Scarecrow Tin Man, Lion and the Wicked Witch. Since they are visibly different people we lose the conflation of Kansas with Oz and it is less apparent that Dorothy has only dreamed the Oz sequence.

The production team has gone to great efforts to re-create the film as fully as possible. There are ruby slippers, a field of poppies, and Emerald City and flying monkeys. Given the limited resources of stage versus film and the additional limitations of community theatre budgets the team has been very clever and largely successful. For instance, the poppies are dancers with red capes which they turn inside out to reveal white capes for the snow that Glinda sends to cover the poppies. Glinda arrives in a giant bubble of bubble wrap! Auntie Em and the Witch really do appear in a giant crystal ball. Adults will be entertained by the cleverness of the effects.

Along with effective directing and production design take note of the music direction. Marcus McCullough does a wonderful job of masking any mistakes from the singers and he brings his usual enthusiasm to his playing. Marcus McCullough, Jennifer and Paul Tassin and Rafael Henry are local treasures for any group planning a musical and especially any group relying on inexperienced performers. And Leigh Simmons is has run a very productive Children's Theatre program which has generated an excellent talent pool for both New Iberia and St. Martinville.

Unfortunately, I saw the performance at the first dress rehearsal. While the show was excellent, there were no programs available so I cannot credit the cast members individually. But Aunt Em is a standout for mature, natural acting; the Lion is a Virginia ham; the Scarecrow is a comedic gem and the Tin Man is stalwart. Dorothy handles Toto so naturally that you forget he's a puppet. The Professor/Oz is a born show man. The Wicked Witch is as wicked as they come.

The Wizard Of Oz concludes its run the weekend of June 27th-29th. It is well worth the price of admission.