Carnegie Mellon News - Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama invites you to “ease on down the road” to the Philip Chosky Theater for the colorful, media-rich production of “The Wiz,” adapted from L. Frank Baum’s beloved classic, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
5 comments:
I am so excited to see this new take on THE WIZ. This movie used to be my anthem growing up as a child. It was so wonderful to me because I was able to see actors, singers, and dancers who all looked like me doing some amazing work while telling a timeless tale. The show and its music teaches audiences how to love and it shows them what truly lives within them if they just believe in themselves. I cannot wait to see Carnegie Mellon's production of this next week. I know that the junior and senior MT's will bring a new youthful life to this show that I know will effect audiences all over the Pittsburgh area. This is going to be the show to look forward to this winter season at Carnegie Mellon.
I'm going to be honest; I was really nervous about this production when I first heard the announcement. "The Wiz" has a critical history of mixed reviews. And something that I really did not notice until I saw the performance on Thursday, was the lack of a solid plot or story arc. And I think that this factor influenced many areas of the production, but overall, there was a sense of spectacle to hide the missing element of a strong plot. On that note though, I think the actors did a wonderful job on stage and truly gave it their all and they should be proud. Additionally, I think that the designers should be proud of what they designed and produced, however I think that more communication in the collaboration would have heightened the idea of connected world on stage. The production I saw on Thursday night was a preview, which means that many things can change so I am eager to see it once again.
I've had the unique chance to run automations for The Wiz as my Freshman crew assignment and after watching it grow and come to life I've developed ideas about what i like and don't like about it. From a technical standpoint the Wiz is amazing, it uses cutting edge technology such as the maya wristband to have the actors interact with the media and projections. With the maya band an actor can change not only the media but the sound as well to perfectly match what the actor is saying or doing. But I've talked with my peers about the show and feel like there is almost too much tech that often takes away from the story at times. But like others have said the Wiz itself is a story without a lot of meat. It often leans on what people know of the wizard of Oz. The characters also do not have a a deep development. The actors did an amazing job at giving the characters life and depth but in relation to the story, the characters are dry. For example Evilene is characterized as the most evil person in Oz and yet we as the audience to not hate or fear her like the witch in the wizard of Oz. Both Glenda and Evilene don't show up until the end of act 2. I think the biggest thing missing from the wiz is the journey of Dorothy. In the wiz it seems like she isn't going anywhere because she doesn't change much. The strongest points are when the lion talks about being a string lion and the tin man expresses his need for a heart. These ideas I think could have been stronger in this very beautiful production at CMU.
When I was in 7th grade, I did a production of The Wiz, and it was the worst thing that I have ever witnessed in my entire life. In August when I heard we were doing The Wiz, I thought back to that experience and was very unsure of what to think. I am pleasantly surprised to see that the production of The Wiz is so much better than my middle school production. Although there have been a lot of technical problems which have occurred, the production has really come through and done its best to be a quality show. The acting is stupendous for all of the distractions they have to deal with; the costumes, set, lights, media, and sound all work so well together to create a whole new world on stage. The collaboration between all of the people involved in this production has really paid off to create a wonderful show.
I was able to see the Wiz last night, and I enjoyed the heck out of it, I was thoroughly pleased when they added some hometown references to the show. I really only knew of the Wizard of Oz, and then Wicked, but never really knew what the Wiz was about, until it started popping up more and more. I thought it was definitely a refreshing view of the show, although sure it was my first time watching the Wiz, I’m sure there will be another time later on down the road, where I will get an opportunity. Although every show is sure to have its flaws, and being familiar with the different components I saw a few things that were off in the performance, one was the lack of haze, the CMU is sometimes known for, there was none, and of course a few other issues here and there, but that’s what you get with live theatre, live results.
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