"Wizard of Oz" Gets a Retro Fit

When Dorothy clicks her heels at in an attempt to return home this weekend, she will not be wearing the shoes that most audience members expect to see.

But they will be the shoes author L. Frank Baum wrote about in his classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

“We went back to Baum’s work and pulled out a few things ... For example, in his book the slippers are silver and not ruby,” said Craig Fisher, who directs the musical. “They were changed [in the movie] because ruby showed up better in Technicolor.”

The silver slippers are just one of the few changes audience members will note from the 1939 classic movie when United Methodist’s Church Basement Productions presents “The Wizard of Oz” this weekend. The production features a live orchestra—and a real Toto.

“We have a live Toto,” assistant director Irene Adolf said. “There will be no stuffed animal.”

Performances start at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children 10 and younger and seniors 65 and older. Audience members are encouraged to arrive early for tickets at the church, 945 S. Garfield St., or call the church at (630) 325-1280 for tickets in advance.

This year the production will take place in the main sanctuary instead of the group’s usual stage area to accommodate more people.

“But with a cast of 55, we are expecting heavy crowds,” Fisher said.

The church’s Theater Ministry began in spring 2008 as a way to engage the youth and the community, said Fisher, who also directed the production of “Bye-Bye Birdie” two years ago.

What started out as a program geared toward teens quickly blossomed into something more. Now the productions’ participants include groups of family members from Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and the surrounding areas. A few cast members live in Plainfield. Several are parent-child pairs.

“It’s an opportunity for the community, and they kind of took advantage of it big time this year—we have a cast of 55 right now. All ages. About a quarter of them are church members, the rest are from the community,” Fisher said.

Twenty-five of those cast members portray Munchkins, the youngest of which is 5 years old.

"The Wizard of Oz" cast started rehearsing six weeks ago, holding about five or six rehearsals a week.

“It is a very quick turnaround,” Adolf said.

Fisher said the theater group has three goals with its productions: to put on a great show, to learn something, and to have fun.

“It’s not going to be successful unless we do all three,” Fisher said.

There have been some enduring friendships formed during the course of the productions, which started in April 2008 with “Lil’ Abner.”

“For most of them it’s a whole big social party,” said Kate Klemchuk, who has choreographed the last three shows. “We’re building a little family. They’re having a good time.”

Fans of Baum’s book will not only notice that Dorothy wears silver slippers, but might catch some of the characters’ original dialogue as well. Some excerpts have been inserted into the script, Fisher said.

“Literally we took a page out of Baum’s book, and that is part of the script now ... And the people who know the Wizard of Oz novel well, I think will appreciate it.”

The audience will see more of the Wicked Witch throughout the show, as the large stage provides enough room for the Witch’s chamber to be visible at all times, including scene changes.

Audience members will also be treated to expanded song and dance numbers.

“There’s added music in each number, and we’ll fit some choreography into some songs that don't necessarily have choreography,” Klemchuk said.

Among those is “If I Only Had a Brain.”

“Here, we not only have the Tin Man, Dorothy and the Scarecrow dancing up front—tap dancing, by the way—but we also have six tap dancers behind them and another six singers backing them up,” Fisher said. “It’s a pretty big company number at that particular point.”

Fisher said that while they didn’t want to make any radical changes, “you at least want to make your production a little distinctive.”

And the cast is successful at doing just that, Klemchuk said.

“The whole cast is so talented,” Klemchuk said. “They really stepped up. They did a great job with everything. Learning the dances and lines, and even just becoming such iconic characters, they did a great job.”

“It’s a rockin’ good time,” Fisher said. “The performers deliver with gusto.”