Playwright: The ensemble based upon the film with music by Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg and other composers
Quest Theatre Ensemble at Klasen Hall, 1609 W. Gregory St.
Phone: ( 312 ) 458-0895; Free, but reservations requested
Through Sept. 25
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
Versions of the Great American Fairy Tale are certainly well-represented on Chicago stages these days. If you don't know what that fairy tale is, turn in your gay card right now.
L. Frank Baum's classic children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, has been a mainstay in American culture for more than a century. Credit the classic 1939 MGM film version starring gay icon Judy Garland as the unquestionable reason for that.
What makes Oz such hot Windy City real estate right now is that Broadway phenomenon called Wicked now playing in Chicago. Since that smash musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire's 1995 revisionist Oz novel hit town, other Oz-related shows are now chasing Wicked's rainbow around Chicago.
Expect a musical version of Geoff Ryman's 1992 post-modern Oz novel, Was, at Northwestern University this October. Then in September, the hip House Theatre unveils The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz as its Oz property. And now courtesy of Quest Theatre Ensemble, we have a puppet-and-mask Wizard of Oz at the unbeatable admission price of Free!
Best known for its touring Blue Nativity and Easter pageant shows, Quest approaches its first secular mythology show with plenty of creative aplomb. Picture if you will, a sort of director Julie Taymor-Lion King approach to The Wizard of Oz with music from the 1939 film. Then produce everything on a shoe-string budget in the basement of a Catholic high school.
Stylistically, everything is entrancing under Nick Rupard's production design of warped masks and stretched bas relief puppets. Jason Bowen's costumes also look rich and plush.
This Wizard of Oz also moves with grace and agility thanks to Kerrie Korzatkowski's choreographic blend of ballet and modern dance interludes with director Andrew Park's inventive staging.
An energetic cast mixed with talented dancers and singers each add plenty of zing to the performance. As Dorothy, Colleen Lynch plays the innocent ingénue with youth-appropriate charm. Her needy entourage is also wonderful, particularly David Korzatkowski's knock-out elastic tumbling as the Scarecrow, Jason Bowman's comic timing as the Tinman and Richard Bandan's bravado as the Lion. Ginny Moore's young and stylishly dressed Wicked Witch of the West is also a lark.
In addition to the classic film score, Quest also incorporates snatches of classical music by Tchaikovsky and Scott Joplin, making this Oz not only a fun but an artistically expanding experience for young kids who don't get enough music education in schools. Quest also makes its version of Oz much more than a film retread with the clever introduction of the song 'The Jutterbug.'
The main problem with Quest's Oz is that its creators don't know when to trim the unnecessary fat. Running around two hours, Quest's Oz goes on far too long for squirmy children.
Tedious additions to the show include the danced prologue where Dorothy is found as an orphan by Aunt Emily ( Amber Robbin who then immediately ages terribly as a puppet ) . Another candidate for trimming is the pointless witch conference with the Sock Witch and Worm Witch ( who aren't to be found in my quick scan of Baum Oz novels ) .
Luckily these sagging bits of Quest's Oz don't detract from the consistent creative pizzazz that fills the performance. Take your nieces, nephews and any other Oz lovers immediately.
Wicked may be the juggernaut show saying 'Bring it on' to Chicago's smaller Oz productions, but Quest's Wizard of Oz shows that the Goliath hit show had better watch out from smaller theatrical Davids in Chicago. And in this case, you can't beat Quest's all-inclusive price.
