Director's Notes

The word ‘classic’ is perhaps the most overused adjective in the theatre today. Plays and musicals, having achieved modest success, are instantly deemed ‘classics’ and we merrily describe even rather ephemeral works as modern ‘classics.’ So it is a distinct privilege, and responsibility, to work on a piece of theatre that is, in every sense of the word, a ‘classic’.
Based on the series of OZ books by L.Frank Baum, the first of which was published in 1900, the iconic film changed our idea of musical theatre forever. When it premiered in 1939, the world was struggling to emerge from the devastating hardships of the economic depression of the 1930’s. The simple quest story of Dorothy and her three unlikely friends took hold of our collective imagination and has never really left us. ’Ruby Slippers’, ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, and ‘Green Witches’ are all elements of the story that have become deeply embedded in our popular culture. An unassuming piece of musical theatre, based on a children’s story, has truly become an enduring classic.... and subsequent generations have celebrated the pluck and courage of little Dorothy Gale from Kansas.

Of course the most obvious challenge in presenting The Wizard of Oz on stage is, ironically, the greatness of the film itself. While we wanted to honour the original, we needed to find our own way of telling Dorothy’s story. Within the confines of the intimate Martha Cohen theatre, we have challenged ourselves to preserve the spirit of the original while bringing to our family audience a fresh approach to the story. This production is blessed with a wonderful and inventive ensemble of actors; designs by John Pennoyer, Narda McCarroll, and Corwin Ferguson that both salute and depart from the cinematic originals; and a musical score, cleverly rearranged by Musical Director Joe Slabe, that seeks to truly honour the brilliance of the Harold Arlen original.
We invite you to journey with Dorothy and her friends as she discovers a simple, and profound, truth – there is no place like home.

Enjoy!

Glynis Leyshon

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A Note from Vanessa

One morning, at rehearsal for The Wizard of Oz, the actors gathered around the piano. They grabbed their scores, sharpened their pencils, and got out their smart-phones. (Did you know, smart-phones are now an essential musical theatre tool? Actors use them to record their vocal lines for practice at home. You can even get a ‘tuning app’ that plays a note for you, or identifies which note you’re actually singing. Amazing.)

A silence fell, and Bruce Horak, who plays the Scarecrow, began to sing.
“… I could while away the hours…
Conferring with the flowers…
Consulting with the rain…”
(“Caw-Caw, Caw-Caw, Caw-Caw,” sang the ‘crows in a cornfield’, in luscious harmony.)

Bruce Horak is a Calgarian, born and raised. Once a Junior Apprentice at ATP, this immensely talented theatre artist is gaining national and international recognition. He’s known to us, among other things, for his self-created piece, This Is Cancer, which premiered at the Enbridge playRites Festival 2007. It had its NYC debut last summer.

As I watched my beloved friend and colleague Bruce embody the Scarecrow, one of the great comic characters of all time, I got shivers. There he was, singing those divinely silly words to that enchanting music, like so many before him, and yet not quite like anyone else.

We do the Nexen Family Holiday Show so we can share the universal experience of theatre with new audiences. We gather together in the intimacy of the Martha Cohen, to hear a story that can be enjoyed by everyone, young and old. The audience encounters a great tale for the first time, or hears an old, beloved one with fresh new ears.

As the Scarecrow says, I couldn’t tell you why, “the ocean’s near the shore.” There’s so much to wonder about in life, so much to ponder. Still, there’s one thing I know for sure: a new generation of performers is telling this universal, beautiful story, for a new generation of theatre-lovers to enjoy. Hurray!

Have a terrific festive season,

Vanessa Porteous
Artistic Director
Alberta Theatre Projects