By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 3.23.24)
It wasn’t
imperative for students watching ‘Before Oz’ to first see the classic
children’s film, The Wizard of Oz’ that premiered in 1939. But it might have
helped them understand more about the characters once they reached Braeburn
Theatre Gitanga where the musical was being staged last weekend.
For
instance, it definitely would have helped them understand who the little man
presented as the Wizard was supposed to be in the minds of Dorothy from Kansas
and her broken friends who were stars of the MGM classic. They’d gone to see
him since he was said to be practically like a god, able
to heal broken souls and bodies. But Dorothy and her pals had quickly discovered
Oz was just an ordinary man with an inflated ego, and a conman who had managed
to generate fear among those who tried to come too close, using that big scary
shrine (that we see in Before Oz) to keep his followers at bay. Oz was also the
supposedly wise and wizardly guy that Glinda (Claire) and Elphaba (Ela) found but
quickly realized he couldn’t help them either.
First
watching The Wizard would also have helped students understand more
easily who the Wicked Witch of the West was before she got really nasty (as in
the film), unlike the sweet green-faced girl, Elphaba whose righteous rage at
the injustices she saw compelled her to stir up storms and tornadoes and other uncanny
disruptions. She had even been offered a job to work for Madam Morrible (Maya)
and do her nasty bidding, but Elphaba refused. At the time, she and Glinda were
still buddies, but Glinda was still very far from becoming Glinda the Good. She
was still self-centered and jealous of Elphaba who had won the heart of the
Fiyere (Asad), the handsome young soldier
who both girls are infatuated with.
Nonetheless,
at the outset of Before Oz, Glinda projects her beautiful, sweet face to
the people when she announces that the wicked witch is dead. What we discover
before the end of the play is that Elphaba didn’t die by committing suicide as
she made it look so she and Fiyero could slip away into oblivion where no one
would find them.
Thus, the
majority of Before Oz is a flashback, revealing a whole other story
which (almost like an opera) is sung, with lyrics and music composed by Steven
Swartch? for the 2003 premiere of the musical. Originally entitled Wicked,
it was a show which earned millions from its box office success, and staged all
over the States and overseas as well.
Glinda had apparently
never planned to tell the story, but then one of her fans asks her if she ever
knew the wicked witch. When she says she did, her fans looked slightly shocked,
but before that becomes an issue, the flashback had already begun and the story
has taken off.
One thing
that is quite remarkable about these school productions is the way the director
(who in this show was Pierce Williams) is able to get all 50 or so students up
on stage when the main activity of importance is taking place between two,
three or four characters. It wasn’t so difficult in Beyond Oz since the musical
seemed to lend itself to lots of singing and dancing. It also helped to find an
excellent choreographer like Maribel Larson who was able to set up fast-footed
dancers (mostly girls, ages 10-12) in chorus lines. There they were quick to
pick up the steps and styles of movement suggested by Ms Larson, so that what
we the audience see is dancers adding smooth, swift momentum to the story line,
while not weighing down the narrative.
The other
thing about watching plays featuring youngsters from age 10 to 12 is how the
director is able to spot talent when most kids may not have been on stage
before. How she or he can be that perceptive is surprising, but in the case of
selecting leads to play Elphaba and Glinda in Before Oz, Williams proved his
value in his ability to pick Ela and Claire who were perfect in their roles.
Apart from their not having well=trained voices for singing, they both
understood their characters well.
The set
design was also interesting as it operated on three levels. The main stage held
most of the action while the second was a climb upstairs, and the third high
above the audience, where Glinda the Good spoke up to her people.
