by Genevieve Brodin, age 11
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas Regional Municipality anymore…”. Nope! We certainly aren’t in Kansas, we are in… drum roll please…Point Pleasant Park! But don’t get too relaxed yet, because there is a huge storm blowing in. It’s a tornado, in fact. It’s the Wicked Witch of the East. And what could she have brought with her?… Oh yes it’s a musical full of beautiful costumes, hilarious jokes, talented actors, extraordinary voices, and last but not least “ja a Svedish fooooot massage!” At least, that happened the night I saw it.
In this famous story, we first meet Dorothy (Jade Douris) and her loyal dog Toto (Tom Gordon Smith). After the tornado, they are soon joined by the brainless but sweet ScareCrow (Melissa MacGougan), the rusty and grumpy Tin Man (James MacLean), and the cowardly Lion (Nathan Simmons) who was scared of a really-quite-terrifying mouse. (I’m with you on the thug-mouse, Lion. He was really gangster).
Each character has a special mission: Dorothy needs to find her way home to Kansas and her Aunty Em (Kathryn MacCormack). The Scarecrow needs to find her brain, and the Tin man needs to find a heart. The Lion needs to find his courage (and maybe a nicer mouse, because that one was mean). They all travel down the Yellow Brick Road to find the famous Wizard of Oz, who will solve all their problems.
Or will he? Bring your favorite lawn chair (or rent a comfy one) and find out!
Will Dorothy find her way home? What about those sparkly ruby… sneakers?
Do you think they’ll all stay friends in the end??
I can’t tell you. You need to see it for yourself!
But I can tell you this: the show is extraordinarily funny. A big shout-out to Toto, who is the best man/dog for the job. I also really loved the crazy monkeys (Drew O’Hara and Adrian Choong); their jokes were hilarious and they used a lot of physical humour. All the actors were so flexible and quick on their feet: there was a lot of funny on-the-spot improv that had me rolling on the grass laughing.
It was also really clever to see how they invented a tornado with just their bodies and a few good props. These actors had beautiful voices and terrific projection: they never need microphones (except for the Wizard, who just needs to sound extra powerful).
Shakespeare by the Sea is one of my favorite summer activities in Halifax. I love sitting on the grass watching the night sky getting dark with my parents and watching great stories getting told so well, just like The Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz plays at the Cambridge Battery in Point Pleasant Park (5530 Point Pleasant Drive, Halifax) OR in the Park Place Theatre (5480 Point Pleasant Drive, Halifax) on select days from now through August 31, 2019. There are matinees at 1:00pm and evening performances at 7:00pm. Tickets are by donation (suggested price is $20.00) or you can book a “Sweet Seat” (a chair in the first few rows) in advance for $25.00. For more information, please visit this website.
You can find Shakespeare By the Sea on Social Media: Facebook. Twitter. Instagram (@SBTSHalifax).
