I Went to See the Wizard (Again)
Missie and I went to see the Carousel Dinner Theater production of “The Wizard of Oz” last night. To be honest, my expectations were pretty low. In my experience, dinner theater usually manages to be barely passable as either dinner or theater. However, Missie knows I am a fan of L. Frank Baum’s creations and wanted to take me to the show as an early birthday present. Who am I to argue about the prospect of an evening out with one of my closest friends?
Much to my surprise, the presentation was very, very enjoyable. The production was a staging of the 1939 film musical. There were a few changes (the Professor Marvel subplot was dropped entirely) and a few additions (a complete staging of “The Jitterbug” musical number, excised from the film.) The actors were Equity professionals and did a fine job recreating their roles without straying too far from the iconic portrayals so familiar to everyone.
During intermission, the audience was given cardboard 3-D-type glasses with green lenses for the Emerald City scene, just like the book. (The city dwellers were all dressed in resplendent white – including white wigs.) Several of the multiple roles played by Frank Morgan in the film (City Gatekeeper, Wizard’s Palace Guard, etc) were played by a huge mechanical puppet fashioned to look like Morgan. Nice touch. and yes, the role of Toto was filled by a live dog, although not a Cairn Terrier. They made up for the gaff by having Dorothy in a sepia-colored dress while she was in Kansas and the traditional blue gingham when she arrived in Oz.
Even dinner wasn’t bad. Missie had a filet and I had pork. We shared an excellent cheese tray during the first part of the performance and split a chocolate-peanut butter dessert at intermission.
All-in-all, it was a truly enjoyable evening. I even managed to squeeze out a few tears at the same place I always boo-hoo during the film: when Dorothy says goodbye to her Oz companions. (“Oh, Scarecrow, I think I’ll miss you most of all.” Sob!)
Since last I blogged, I’ve traveled to Baltimore and Philadelphia for work and jumped more completely into my new Sales Engineer role at work. This weekend, I fly to Chicago to attend the wedding of my friends Tammy (aka LouieGirl) and J.R. And I’m sharing accommodations with my friend Tanya (aka Bitteroptimist.) After that, it’s off to New Jersey for a Kevin Smith event.
The trees are displaying their autumnal brilliance and all is truly right with the world. I hope the same can be said of your little corner of creation. Peace.
Much to my surprise, the presentation was very, very enjoyable. The production was a staging of the 1939 film musical. There were a few changes (the Professor Marvel subplot was dropped entirely) and a few additions (a complete staging of “The Jitterbug” musical number, excised from the film.) The actors were Equity professionals and did a fine job recreating their roles without straying too far from the iconic portrayals so familiar to everyone.
During intermission, the audience was given cardboard 3-D-type glasses with green lenses for the Emerald City scene, just like the book. (The city dwellers were all dressed in resplendent white – including white wigs.) Several of the multiple roles played by Frank Morgan in the film (City Gatekeeper, Wizard’s Palace Guard, etc) were played by a huge mechanical puppet fashioned to look like Morgan. Nice touch. and yes, the role of Toto was filled by a live dog, although not a Cairn Terrier. They made up for the gaff by having Dorothy in a sepia-colored dress while she was in Kansas and the traditional blue gingham when she arrived in Oz.
Even dinner wasn’t bad. Missie had a filet and I had pork. We shared an excellent cheese tray during the first part of the performance and split a chocolate-peanut butter dessert at intermission.
All-in-all, it was a truly enjoyable evening. I even managed to squeeze out a few tears at the same place I always boo-hoo during the film: when Dorothy says goodbye to her Oz companions. (“Oh, Scarecrow, I think I’ll miss you most of all.” Sob!)
Since last I blogged, I’ve traveled to Baltimore and Philadelphia for work and jumped more completely into my new Sales Engineer role at work. This weekend, I fly to Chicago to attend the wedding of my friends Tammy (aka LouieGirl) and J.R. And I’m sharing accommodations with my friend Tanya (aka Bitteroptimist.) After that, it’s off to New Jersey for a Kevin Smith event.
The trees are displaying their autumnal brilliance and all is truly right with the world. I hope the same can be said of your little corner of creation. Peace.
posted by Tim @ 6:21 PM
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