Darryl Maximilian Robinson's 1980s 'Wiz' And 'Wizard of Oz' Role Notes

During The 1980s, Darryl Maximilian Robinson Had The Great Joy of Going 'Over The Rainbow' as The Cowardly Lion In A Traditional Stage Musical Version of The Wizard of Oz And He Mastered How to 'Ease On Down The Road' in the title role in The Wiz

"There are many overtones of "The Wiz" mixed into the Theatre Project Company's production of "The Wizard of Oz," but the blend works, thanks to solid direction and a glorious performance by Darryl Maximilian Robinson. The result is a charming, warm, highly entertaining evening of the L. Frank Baum classic..the evening belongs to Robinson, whose Cowardly Lion steals the show so slickly that he might be considered a threat to Brink's, Wells Fargo and Mercantile Trust." -- Joe Pollack, 'A Happy Evening In Oz For Kids Of All Ages,' The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tuesday December 4, 1984.

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Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project Founder & Theatre Artist DARRYL MAXIMILIAN ROBINSON has been over the rainbow, down the yellow brick road, and had to deal with a little lost girl from Kansas onstage no less than three times in his 46-season stage career. He first dealt with Miss Dorothy Gale in 1984, when he played The Cowardly Lion in The Theatre Project Company of St. Louis' traditional stage musical version of "THE WIZARD OF OZ" utilizing an adapted book from THE MUNY Opera ( and featuring the music score from the acclaimed 1939 film ). In 1987, however, the music he sang and danced to was quite different and far more hip when he played the title role in WILLIAM F. BROWN'S and CHARLIE SMALLS' Tony Award-winning Best Musical "THE WIZ" at The Lyceum Theatre of Arrow Rock, Mo.

And, in 1989, he would encounter the "Young Whippersnapper!" one more time when he played the title role in the aforementioned R&B stage classic at The Derby Dinner Playhouse of Clarksville, Indiana ( just outside of Louisville, Ky. ) under the skilled and fine guidance of talented Director / Producer BEKKI JO SCHNEIDER and starring the golden-voiced SHIRESE HURSEY as Dorothy.

"...Darryl Maximilian Robinson as "The Wiz," stands tallest in sheer stage presence." -- Dale Sandusky, 'Critic Finds "The Wiz" Has Heart,' The Tribune of New Albany, Ind., Friday February 17, 1989.

During the late 70s, and throughout the 80s, there were many successful and well-received productions of the Tony Award-winning best musical The Wiz staged around the United States in regional theatres and on tours. One revival of The Wiz that is of interest was one staged in the winter of 1989 with a multicultural cast by director / producer Bekki Jo Schneider at The Derby Dinner Playhouse of Clarksville, Indiana just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. Schneider's cast included Shirese Hursey as Dorothy, K. Bartholomew Ray as The Scarecrow, Stanley White as The Tin Man, Mark Lawrence as The Cowardly Lion, and 1981 Fort Wayne News-Sentinel Reviewer's Recognition Outstanding Thespian of the Season Award Winner and future 1997 Chicago Joseph Jefferson Citation Outstanding Actor Award Winner Darryl Maximilian Robinson as The Wiz.

The 1989 Derby Dinner Playhouse revival of The Wiz was performed in-the-round and featured choreography by Barbara Cullen-Bauer.

Considered a break-through Broadway show for African-American performers of musical theatre, alongside Purlie and Raisin, Charlie Smalls' and William F. Brown's The Wiz continues to serve as a wonderful, creative example of black artistic history in the U.S.

During the fall of 1984, after a successful encore season of professional summer stock roles with The Enchanted Hills Playhouse of Syracuse, Indiana, Darryl Maximilian Robinson ( the 1981 Fort Wayne News-Sentinel Reviewer's Recognition Award Winner as Outstanding Thespian of the Season and Chicago-born and stage-trained actor and play director who would later become Founder of the multiracial, non-Equity professional chamber theatre The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago ) was playing such parts as Emperor Kublai Khan of China in The Wonderful World of Marco Polo, the black Revolutionary War hero Prince Whipple in Give Me Liberty! and preparing to appear as A Featured Performer in an adaptation of Thomas Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales all while on the 1984-85 MUNY / Student Theatre Project Company Tour out of St. Louis. While diligently working under this contract, Darryl Maximilian Robinson earned critical praise as The Cowardly Lion in The Theatre Project Company of St. Louis 1984 traditional stage musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz well-directed by Deborah Lynn Wickes at The New City School of The Central West End.

Darryl Maximilian Robinson considers his younger days as a performer on the stage in these musical adaptations of the L. Frank Baum classic "The Wizard of Oz" some of the most fun he ever had as a professional theatre artist!

Chicago-born and stage-trained actor and play director Darryl Maximilian Robinson was most recently seen by Windy City theatregoers in his critically-praised dual roles of The Chairman Mr. William Cartwright and The Mayor Thomas Sapsea in the 2018 Saint Sebastian Players Chicago revival of Rupert Holmes'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' at the more than a century old St. Bonaventure Church for which he received a 2019 BroadwayWorld Chicago Award nomination for Best Performer In A Musical or Revue ( Resident Non-Equity ).

Darryl Maximilian Robinson has become noted as the very first black actor in American Theatre History to portray on stage a trio of classic dramatic roles including: Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons" ( in a 1984 revival presented by The University Players of The University of Missouri-St. Louis and directed by AEA Member John Grassilli at The Benton Hall Theater ); King Henry II in a 1992 multiracial cast revival of James Goldman's "The Lion In Winter" ( directed by Mr. Robinson for his chamber theatre Excaliber Productions, Ltd in St. Louis and staged at The Wabash Triangle Cafe ); and Andrew Wyke ( opposite the talented actor Sean Nix as Milo Tindle ) in a 2000, 30th Anniversary, all-black cast revival of Anthony Shaffer's "Sleuth" presented under Mr. Robinson's direction by his chamber theatre The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago at The Harrison Street Galleries Studio Theatre of Oak Park, Illinois.

https://theatre.fandom.com/wiki/William_F._Brown%27s_and_Charlie_Smalls%27_The_Wiz_(_1975_)

http://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/100432-the-wiz-at-derby-dinner-playhouse-1989

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Note: Darryl Maximilian Robinson ( The Founder of The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and The Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project ) has appeared in more than 250 stage productions in the course of his more than four decade long involvement in The Performing Arts. 2018 Photo by Danny Belrose.

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Most recently, Darryl Maximilian Robinson was named a winner of a 2022 Making The World Happening Award from Allevents.in for his numerous online theatre-related offerings during the early years of The Covid-19 pandemic.