Cincinnati - "The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition"

Regional Reviews: Cincinnati

The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition
The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati
Review by Rick Pender

Animaesh Manglik, Elliot Martin,
and Anthony J. Contreras
Photo by Mikki Schaffner

When The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) began its storied existence more than a century ago, it kicked things off with a version of The Wizard of Oz. It's entirely fitting for the opening at its spectacular, newly renovated home in the historic Emery Theater from 1909, which was reimagined and resurrected from a disintegrating hulk, funded by TCT's $50 million fundraising effort. TCT called the Emery home from 1949 to 1976, so this was also a homecoming, perfectly delivered by a return to the Land of Oz. As TCT's leaders have said repeatedly, "There's no place like home."

The "youth edition" of the classic 1939 motion picture The Wizard of Oz comes from England's Royal Shakespeare Company, which adapted it several decades ago for younger performers and audiences. The TCT production takes just a few ticks more than an hour but even trimmed down, it retains much of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg's famous score. Plus all the memorable characters.

TCT's cast of 35 performers is a mix of veteran adult professionals as well as members of TCT's Young Artists Company. Roderick Justice, TCT's energetic artistic director, has staged the production, which features dozens of performers in well-rehearsed choreography by Maddie Jones, TCT's associate artistic director. The action is closely coordinated with non-stop dazzling video and set pieces that come up from below the stage or fly down from above. There are several moments of flying witches. The visual results are riveting and more than enough to keep youngsters entertained–as well as parents and excited onlookers thrilled to see the Emery not just restored but transformed into one of the most technologically advanced proscenium-style theaters in the nation.

Leading the cast as Dorothy is Elliot Martin, a junior at Highlands High School in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. She is a strong singer, plays the guitar (for her solo rendition of "Over the Rainbow"), and manages a sweet Cairn Terrier playing her faithful dog, Toto. (Toward the show's end, Toto was so weary he laid down for nap. Martin scooped him up quickly and kept right on with her performance.)

Anthony J. Contreras and Elliot Martin
Photo by Mikki Schaffner

Dorothy's trio of road warriors are each played by accomplished performers. Anthony J. Contreras is the rubbery Scarecrow, capable of some amazing gymnastics. Animaesh Manglik is the lumbering Tin Man who reveals his caring nature even before he gets his heart. Bob Herzog, best known as Local 12's TV news anchor but also a veteran of TCT productions, provides a delightful comic turn as the Cowardly Lion, especially his amusing performance singing, "If I Were King of the Forest," which had many in the audience giggling.

Bethany Xan Kerr doubles as the despicable Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West, replete with glowing green makeup and a broom to fly on. She's counterbalanced by Hayley Martin as saccharine-sweet Glinda the Good, who drifts in on an airborne scooter with a "GG" monogram and a stream of bubbles. Douglas Fries appears first as the huckster Professor Marvel and subsequently as the great and glorious Wizard. Even after he's exposed as the "man behind the curtain," the very tall actor appareled in glittering green is both imposing and amusing. (I want to add that the video image of the Wizard's immense talking head might frighten young children; with a booming voice and glowing eyes, it's a creepy, scary sight even for grownups.)

Dorothy's downhome Kansas family is reduced to Amy Bauman as Aunt Em and Rodger Pille as Uncle Henry. Pille is back subsequently as the "Not nobody, not no-how" guard at the door of Oz, and his stuttering quickstep could qualify him to be a "minister of silly walks" on Monty Python.

Other members of the ensemble come and go repeatedly in a dazzling array of costumes designed by Noelle Wedig-Johnston. Of particular note are the Flying Monkeys (who don't really fly, but have busy fluttering wings), the gingham-clad, rainbow-hued dancing Munchkins, and the army of singing, dancing stagehands, wearing yellow coveralls and hard hats with lights. In particular, they bring on and assemble sections of the Yellow Brick Road, but they are busy from start to finish.

The Emery's newly installed modern technology is used extensively. The stage's video rear wall is a screen that displays projections designed by the real wizards at Lightborne Communications. Audiences get to see everything from monotone Kansas and the fearsome twister to waving cornfields, from Munchkinland to the Tin Tank filling station where the Woodman has rusted in place, from the grand avenue to the Wizard's palace to the trash-lined path to the Wicked Witch's eerie abode. Beyond the backdrop, panels on the proscenium and the walls on both sides of the stage offer added visuals created using projection mapping, sometimes extending onstage scenes, sometimes simply providing visual mood enhancement.

This whiz-bang production is both a celebration of professional theatre for young audiences and a preview of more exciting things to come. The rest of TCT's season will offer Elf: The Musical JR in December, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical in February-March 2026, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Musical JR to finish the season in April-May 2026.

The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition runs through October 26, 2025, produced by The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati at its new home, The Emery Theater, 1112 Elm Street, in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati OH. For tickets and information, please visit www.thechildrenstheatre.com or call 513-569-8080, x10.