Often, throughout the show, characters are simply lined up in a single plane and talk to each other.īut Rodaz is a kind of Orson Welles – a young director, projection designer, set and scenic designer often working with a band of talented associates such as musical director Katie Duerr and costume designer Maria Banda-Rodaz who has known him every second of his life.
To be fair, the Kansas scenes don’t have a lot of energy or credibility the show takes a while to get rolling even though Rodaz pours the scenes into each other fluidly. The most hilarious section, though – the idea, staging and performance – is the entire extensive procession of Munchkinland songs whose underlying conceit we simply refuse to reveal here. To give away just one more, when the Cowardly Lion tells his backstory, suddenly the stage is covered with fifth-rate Taymorish animals, and a baby lion is held aloft a la The Lion King. Rodaz gleefully settled for projecting on a wall a cartoon green skull with a flapping mouth that looked as if it belonged on South Park. In another production further up the state, the head of The Great and Powerful Oz was a set piece costing what Area Stage probably spent on its whole costume budget. A joy for adults are the wry surprising ways iconic moments from the film are handled on stage. They proudly highlight the gimcrackery of those solutions. Rodaz, his inexhaustible cast and creative crew have constructed a charming, witty and entertaining riff whose sterling quality is how they resourcefully solve staging problems that otherwise would require a far bigger budget. Hearing that Area Stage is mounting The Wizard of Oz –intentionally rooted in the 1939 film – might make childless theatergoers pass. In fact, the younger Rodaz invigorated such titles with vibrant imagination that, indeed, mesmerizes children but will delight anyone else lucky enough to attend. The phrase “fun for the whole family” usually is a disingenuous marketing ploy meant to drag luckless adults into the theater instead of just dropping their children at the front door.īut theater professionals across the country have been laboring to develop projects that will entertain the kiddies but offer humor and insights to tickle and satisfy the parents – or any other adult who buys a ticket.Īrea Stage Company in Miami excels at clearly challenging adult plays such as The Nether and The Octoroon helmed by co-founder John Rodaz.īut in recent years, his son Giancarlo has been producing titles that might seem on the surface to be children’s theater, such as Shrek.īut that’s the surface.
Corey Vega, Joseph Morell, Andrea Duque, Jorge Amador and Jonathan Debs are off to see… well, you know in Area Stage Company’s The Wizard of Oz
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