Lady T Recommends Haberdasher Theater’s “The Wizard of Oz”

I began writing this blog a year and a half ago because I’m fascinated with the intersection of life and art, the way life influences art and art influences life. I feel fortunate to have a blogging platform where I can write my ideas and then, with a click of a button, share those ideas with the rest of the world. I hope one day to be a published novelist and creator/head writer of a television sitcom (or several), and blogging about my ideas concerning feminism and the media is a great way to both make a name for myself and publicize all of the ideas I can’t get out of my head.

But I’m not the only one who has big dreams about making a dent in the artistic world and offering my perspective to others. Sometimes people need a little more help to have their voices heard. That’s why I’ve decided to add a weekly feature to the blog called Lady T Recommends, in which I promote a project that needs funding.

The first entry in Lady T Recommends is Haberdasher Theater’s upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz. Here is the link to the Kickstarter page: Help Haberdasher Theatre Present The Wizard of Oz. This production is a modernized take on L. Frank Baum’s classic story that brings an older Dorothy to Noho as she navigates the unforgiving world of New York City:

“Directed by Hollie Elizabeth Klem, this posh metropolitan spin on the cult-classic lands the Kansas born-and-bred Dorothy (Tami Soligan)—a girl with a heart of gold, an artistic spirit too big for her Midwestern ranch, and not much patience for rules—right smack in the middle of Noho, a place that’s surely “no place like home!”

On her cosmopolitan journey, Dorothy navigates much more than the city-that-never-sleeps on her quest to find the Wizard (Matthew Giroveanu), the guy who must know the secret to “making it” here—or anywhere! From Eastside to West, she encounters mother monster witches with shotguns and wood allergies (Christen Madrazo, Taylor Zito, and Jennifer Michaels); an OCD-ridden lioness in need of some serious Prozac (Nicole J. Lippey); an emotionally damaged tin man who still can’t commit (Brian Ogston); and the starving artist, hippy-dippy, scarecrow type your mom prays you never bring back to the ranch (Jeff Foley).”

Why I’m recommending this project: The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie and I love watching modernized updates on timeless classics. This sounds like an amusing, clever take on the story that can capture the dark side of the land of Oz without ignoring the whimsy, magic, and humor of Baum’s world. New York can also use another take on The Wizard of Oz other than Wicked, and I don’t mean that as a disparaging comment on the popular musical, but that show is super expensive, and Oz fans who don’t want to sell a kidney to get a dose of Dorothy should be able to see this production instead. Finally, I have seen some of Haberdasher Theatre’s previous shows, and I find them to be an innovative, risk-taking company that tries new things and presents new ideas.

Haberdasher Theatre currently has $375 pledged, and they need $2000 by Friday, June 8th. If you are willing and able to spare a little cash, I highly recommend donating to this production. If it goes up, I’ll see it and review it to let you all know how it goes.