Claiming to be like The Wizard of Oz but sassier, the Trinity College Dramatic Society set high expectations for its spring musical with The Wiz. The opening night performance, directed by Daniel Bennett, definitely had its high and low points. Unfortunately, the show began on the latter note with a weak vocal number followed by a messy dance routine, instantly offering a negative impression.
However, the introduction of Addaperle (Robin Buller) in “He’s the Wiz” took things in a better direction. This good witch of the North was loud, lively, and loads of fun—her bubbly southern twang and “magic” cigarette made for one of the most memorable performances of the evening. Following in her footsteps came the Scarecrow (Ali Malik), entering the stage fastened to a perfectly designed prop. Dressed in rags and stuffed with hay, the Scarecrow was spot-on in character as he wobbled his way through a very well-played performance. His “Ease on Down the Road” duet with Dorothy (Katie Dunlop) commenced the first of three renditions of this song, each of which were entertaining and helped establish the jazz-funk feel of the musical.
Dunlop’s acting was pleasant throughout the entire performance. Although vocally there were a few shaky moments, her memorization, line delivery, and overall expression were perfect for the part. The Tinman’s (Alex Ognibene) entrance had the crowd wide-eyed, and his heap of shiny silver was wonderfully incorporated into the creative number “Slide Some Oil to Me.” Ognibene also stumbled across a few vocal trembles, but he compensated for this with his character portrayal—his acting was ideal. Paddy Tready played Mr. “Mean Ole Lion” excellently. His fun and sly mannerisms, along with humorous attempts at being mean, kept the audience laughing.
The band, having to bear the heavy burden of playing live, got off to a rough start. There were a few timing and pitch problems in the earlier scenes; however, conductor Michelle Dussard did a great job at getting the band back in sync. The jazzy piano and flute melodies combined with the funky bass and saxophone to appropriately capture the atmosphere and fill the theatre with some foot-tapping tunes.
The dance chorus wasn’t able to refine their numbers in time for the end of the show, and the choreography was unclean and felt immature. While the stage direction was carried out successfully, it was missing hand-in-hand coordination with the lighting—as Dorothy and the gang eased on down into the audience, it was hard to follow them without a spotlight. Along with a few other glitches, the overall lighting was simply too minimal.
Evilene, The Wicked Witch of the West (Jyostna Ventakesh), was far from bad in “No Bad News.” Her vocal range fired up the stage, bringing the character to life with a domineering spirit and powerful shrieks of anger. Her kind and gentle sister Glinda (Sara Anderson) made an angelic entrance in “Rested Body,” which she sung beautifully. The Wiz himself (Jordan Neal) was slightly less captivating upon his much-anticipated arrival to the stage. Although he dressed to impress, his vocals were sometimes off-key, and his line delivery was often unclear due to his constantly changing accent. On the bright side, his acting was enjoyable, and his comedic elements were well-timed and amusing.
Overall, it seems that the cast and crew of The Wiz needed a few more rehearsals to patch up the imperfections, but this weekend’s performance may show improvements. It is clear that all involved are talented and dedicated, and that two-and-a-half months is a very short timeframe for putting together such a production. That being said, TCDS should be especially proud of the effort put into this show.
