On March 6th 2015, I went to watch the production of The Wiz, directed by Gary Hicks. The Wiz is about a young girl named Dorothy who gets blown away by a large twister, into a far land named Oz. Dorothy soon learns to appreciate her home and makes new friends while on her journey back home. Brandi Bell, who portrayed Dorothy, is an amazing actress and singer. She brought a lot to the table as far as her voice and acting skills noticed that Brandi was very focused throughout the play and knew her lines with a drop of a dime.
My favorite part of brandies performance is basically throughout the play when she stops and notices people who need help and offers to lead them to the wiz to get their wish. Honestly I don’t think there was anything wrong with Brandis’ performance because she stood out the most to me; she was focused, cheated out and most importantly loud and diligent with her words. Not everyone in the cast was diligent or loud with their words because I had trouble hearing a few people.
Even though I was told by performers there were a lot of mess ups the day I came I didn’t realize any of them which is a good thing. Royal Moon, who was part of the ensemble as a dancer throughout the show did excellent. She has actually inspired me to audition for next year’s musical because she made it look so fun and I felt she brought a burst of energy on the stage. Royel knew exactly what she was doing the whole time and looked like she had rehearsed for hours. I could easily tell she was focused and I feel her hours of preparation gave her a boost of confidence.
I loved Royel’s performance and I can’t wait to watch her play a lead role one day. My favorite costume in the whole show was the lions costume played by–. The silhouette was loose and baggy in the middle and leg which I think gave it a more comfy look, which lions have. I like how the costume designer mixed brown fabrics with red, but I feel if the costume designer added gold streaks of fabric to the lions mane, because lions are “the king of the jungle” it would have made the costume pop more. Also the fabric used from far away looked soft.
I never had the opportunity to see the costume up close but I think the costume designer should have used a rougher fabric to symbolize a lion’s fierceness. My overall impression of The Wiz was very good. I had a wonderful time watching the play. I rate the play a 9. 5 out of 10 for great actors and a good overall performance from each actor. The play provoked a comical response from me. I found the play funnier than the movie at times which made my experience better. Out of all the productions I have watched at Kell this one is my favorite by far.
