“The Wiz” will open at Short North Stage Thursday. Credit: Courtesy of Kyle Long Photography
The second installment in the “Wicked” movie series — “Wicked: For Good” — is coming out Friday, but it’s not the only story set in Oz being told this week.
Short North Stage’s production of “The Wiz,” another musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s classic novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” will open at the historic Garden Theater on Thursday and run through Dec. 28.
“‘The Wiz’ is not trying to be ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Christopher Page-Sanders, director and choreographer for the show, said. “The true thing that is the same is that it’s a girl who is on her journey to get home.”
Page-Sanders said this will be his first project in Columbus, following his previous show “Lady Day,” which took place at Emerson’s Bar and Grill at the Arvada Center in Arvada, Colo.
Page-Sanders has also directed and choreographed other shows across the country, such as “Nice Work,” “Triple Threat,” “Anastasia” and “Cinderella,” according to his website.
The timing between the movie sequel release and the musical’s Short North Stage debut are coincidental, Page-Sanders said. He said the story of Oz has been quite popular as of late.
“Everybody’s going to do ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ everybody’s going to do ‘The Wiz,’ everybody’s doing ‘Wicked,’” Page-Sanders said. “That’s all great, and I think there are lessons we can take from each of them too.”
“The Wiz” tells Dorothy’s story through the lens of the Black experience, featuring many aspects of modern African American culture. The 1978 film adaptation — which features Diana Ross and Michael Jackson — is even considered one of the most famous African American family films of all time, according to the film’s fandom wiki.
“The Wiz” won seven Tony Awards in 1975, sweeping large categories such as “Best Musical,” “Best Direction,” “Best Original Score” and more, according to the Broadway website.
Known for its songs “Ease on Down the Road,” “Be a Lion” and “Don’t Nobody Bring Me Bad News,” “The Wiz” blends the genres of disco, blues and R&B with a more modern setting, compared to other stories set in Oz.
In connection to the season, the movie version of “The Wiz” opens with a scene of Dorothy and her family gathered for Thanksgiving dinner, according to IMDb, and according to its wiki, Thanksgiving is when the movie is most often aired.
The motivation of the main character, Dorothy, is also a little different compared to other adaptations, according to Page-Sanders.
“With ‘The Wiz,’ home is not just a place she gets back to; home is the community she’s a part of,” Page-Sanders said. “Home is understanding the experience of her people in not only America, but also the world, and home becomes family, faith, love and acceptance.”
In the Short North Stage’s production of “The Wiz,” Dorothy is played by Amirah Joy Lomax, who grew up in Columbus and is making her homecoming return to the Short North Stage. She’s taken on this role after starring in “Little Shop of Horrors” in April at Denver Center for the Performing Arts in Denver and “Hair” at the Arkansas Repertory in Little Rock, Ark., in July.
Lomax will be joined by a cast of 21 other performers from the Columbus community and beyond, ranging from local high school interns to professional actors from both Columbus and New York.
Page-Sanders said he hopes “The Wiz” will inspire the community to make it through another day, knowing the journey of life is hard, just as Dorothy’s is. He said the production’s goal is to have audiences leave the theater reflecting on their self-identity, history and past in order to understand and see their future.
“The future is wide, the future is broad and the future is as expansive as you want it to be, so there are no ends and there are no limits,” Page-Sanders said.
Tickets for the show can be purchased on the Short North Stage’s website. While opening night is already sold out, tickets are still available for later dates.
From Dec. 5-6, Short North Stage will host Student Night, in which students can use the code “OSUWIZ” at checkout to purchase $15 student tickets and gain access to drink deals.
