07/13/2007

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Stephen Dillon, 19, rehearses alongside Leah McCord, 19, left, and Kayle Peabody, 19, center-left, for the upcoming production 'The Wiz.'

They're off to be 'The Wiz'

Musical take on 'Wizard of Oz' gets first run here

By KEVIN WRIGHT

kwright@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — The character Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz” arrives in the land of Oz disoriented by the unfamiliar setting.

Megan Madison hopes to capture that essence through her own unusual circumstances.

Madison will play the lead pigtailed girl in Miracle Productions' presentation of "The Wiz,” the '70s Broadway version of "The Wizard of Oz.” She's also stuck in Ann Arbor taking an intensive Arabic class at the University of Michigan until July 22, just three days before opening night on July 25.

"(Dorothy) doesn't really know what she's doing,” said Madison, who plans to study abroad in Egypt for the fall semester. "Since I've been out of the loop, I may come off more authentic than I ever could have imagined.”

The University of Michigan junior is using her downtime between classes to iron out her lines and songs, but when she gets back in town, she'll rejoin a cast which she said was perfectly assembled by director and producer Pat Gallagher.

"The cast is amazing,” said Madison, who was rehearsing with the ensemble before heading to Ann Arbor. "I was surprised at our first practice to see everyone speaking and no one needed any direction.”

Gallagher's cast includes Madison (Dorothy), Madison Ford (the Tinman), Brian Cheatom (the Scarecrow), Stephen Dillon (the Wiz), Kellen Swift-Godzisz (Lion), Kayla Peabody (Addaperle), Kate Madison (Wicked Witch of the West) and Maggie Mallery (Aunt Em and the Good Witch of the South).

"The Wiz” is a more upbeat and family-friendly version of "The Wizard of Oz.” Most of the scarier scenes and characters have been altered to give "The Wiz” a lighter feel.

The Motown musical features a Wicked Witch of the West who doesn't want to kill Dorothy, but just wants her silver shoes and a Wiz who plays a more prominent role. Gallagher added that the witch is more comical than diabolical.

"The music is really fun and funky,” Gallagher said. "I was looking for an upbeat piece with upbeat music, and 'The Wiz' has never been done before in northwest Michigan.”

Gallagher said "The Wiz” enjoyed a successful run on Broadway until it jumped to the movie screen.

In 1978, Motown Productions gathered a cast with stars like Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor for the screenplay, but Gallagher said the movie just couldn't capture the magic from the stage.

"It was really a B movie,” Gallagher said. "It lost a lot of its following. It's hard when you have a 35-year-old play Dorothy. It didn't go well.”

Cheatom only knew "The Wiz” from the movie until Gallagher approached him during the winter about playing the Scarecrow.

"The movie was interesting,” Cheatom said with a laugh. "Parts of it are a little weird and supernatural.”

With "The Wiz,” Gallagher wanted to incorporate a family night — a new element for Miracle Productions — so she changed her traditional showtime schedule from Thursday through Saturday night for four weeks to Wednesday through Saturday night for three weeks. Wednesday will be family night, when a child is half price when paired with a parent.

"The Wiz” will run July 25-28 and Aug. 1-4 and 8-11, with performances starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children.

Meanwhile, Miracle Productions continues its run of "Pump Boys and Dinettes,” with performances today through Saturday and July 18 through 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Milliken Auditorium.

For tickets, call the box office at (231) 995-1553. More information is available at www.miracleproductionstc.com.