Haberdasher Theatre’s “The Wizard of Oz” Has Endearing Charm (But Could Use More New Yawk)

Sometimes all a person wants from a night at the theater is to giggle and enjoy silliness. Haberdasher Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz supplies those giggles with an adaptation of the classic story that stays true to the spirit of the original text while sneaking in a few moments of more adult humor.

Directed and adapted for the stage by Hollie Elizabeth Klem, this version of The Wizard of Oz takes us to a Kansas where Auntie Em (Christen Madrazo) is a Queens transplant struggling to raise her niece Dorothy (Tami Soligan) as a single mother on a farm, but the girl and her dog Toto won’t stop getting into trouble (as evidenced by Em’s loud squawking of “DAWTHY!” that opens the play). Dorothy, knowing that her dog will be exterminated for being a troublemaker, tries to leave the farm, but comes back when she fears for her aunt’s safety. The house is swept up in a tornado and lands on top of the Wicked Witch of the East Village, rescuing the NoHo villagers from her evil reign, but Dorothy draws the ire of the Wicked Witch of the West Village (Taylor Zito), and soon has to follow the Yellow Brick Road to reach the Wizard, and…well, you know the rest of the story. Girl meets boys, boys help girl meet a mighty powerful wizard, girl fights with witch over shoes, powerful wizard turns out to be a fraud, etc. etc.

Updating The Wizard of Oz for a modern audience isn’t an easy task. L. Frank Baum’s tale is one of the most memorable stories of all time, and with Wicked appearing on Broadway (and its songs appearing on Glee), many potential audience members might feel all Oz-ed out. Fortunately, Haberdasher Theatre wisely avoids the trap of trying to out-do Wicked by going too over-the-top and meta, and stays truer to the original story. Oz is still Oz, Dorothy is still Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West is still evil, and the Wizard is more of a slick-tongued schnook than a tiny dictator.

But there are still a few contemporary twists in this production that keep the story fresh and interesting for an adult audience that grew up with the 1939 movie. The mix of modern music played in the theater as the audience takes their seats, including songs from Vampire Weekend and a group that sounds like She & Him, alerts us that we won’t be watching a carbon copy of the film. The impressive costume design by Katie Grammes combine the classic and the contemporary, keeping Dorothy in her patterned blue dress and making the angry apple-throwing tree (Jennifer Michaels) a force to be reckoned with, but giving more of a modern edge to a character like the Tin Man (Brian Ogston), who has a few holes in his costume with grey fabric peeking through, as though someone scraped through his metal exterior just to find more metal. The production also has fun playing with the sincere dialogue from the original text – when Dorothy chirps to the Scarecrow (Jeff Foley) and the Tin Man that they are the “best friends any girl could ever have!”, the Tin Man responds with a deadpan, “I’d say we were more partners than friends.”

The cast, meanwhile, is clearly making a goal to have as much fun as possible with their roles. Christen Madrazo is a scene-stealer as Auntie Em and Glinda the Good Witch, trying on different accents the way one would try on hats and succeeding every time. Matthew Giroveanu adds sleazy charm to his role of the Wizard, but is grounded enough that the audience can believe that the characters will buy what he’s selling. Melody Cheng, Joseph Dale Harris, and Nicholas Panagakos play a variety of ensemble roles, from the NoHo villagers to the Emerald City citizens to the Witch’s flying monkeys, and inject a different kind of energy into each part. (I won’t spoil their take on the flying monkeys – that’s something that has to be seen.) Nicole J. Lippey as the Lion is the MVP of the strong cast – jumpy, paranoid, and endearingly neurotic, always on her game and increasing the energy of the performers around her. I imagine that, of all the performances from the original movie, Bert Lahr’s campy Lion would be the most tempting for an actor to want to imitate, but she puts her own spin on the part and gets the biggest laughs of the show.

The cast is strong, the costumes are impressive, and the sweet charm of the production is infectious. I only wish that the production had taken a little more advantage of the New York City setting when updating the text. Auntie Em’s Queens accent is a good start and the take on the flying monkeys adds a bridge & tunnel flavor to the show, but most of the story takes place in original Oz that’s not too different from the original story. The production could have gone a little farther in giving a more New Yawk feel to the show, perhaps by turning Emerald City into the Fashion District, or making the Wizard into a parody of Mayor Bloomberg. There’s a bit of a missed opportunity in setting the show in New York without making the location central to the story.

At the same time, I appreciate Haberdasher Theatre and Hollie Klem’s mission to stay true to the original spirit of the story. Too many New York jokes could have distracted us from the sweetness ofThe Wizard of Oz.I’d rather see a show that appreciates and respects the original Wizard of Oz instead of one that peppers the dialogue with too many “aren’t we clever?” jokes, and Haberdasher Theatre’s production shows nothing but respect for L. Frank Baum’s vision.

Haberdasher Theatre’s The Wizard of Oz is running from June 14-June 30 at The Drilling Company Theatre, on 236 West 78th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 PM. Tickets are $20.