‘The Wiz’ gives Costa cause to rejoice

Friday, April 30, 2010
By Alex Parducci
Staff Writer

The highly-anticipated musical “The Wiz,” put on by Mira Costa’s Drama Department, opened on April 16 to a packed auditorium where expectations were high.

“The Wiz,” a Tony Award-winning Broadway play, is a soulful version of the movie “The Wizard of Oz.” It follows the same plot as “The Wizard of Oz;” however, “The Wiz” features funky, mo-town-inspired music.

The Drama Department decided to take on the difficult task of performing this play by adding its own unique touch to it. Instead of the dark streets of New York, the auditorium was decked with bright green lights and colorful backdrops. The costumes were elaborate and bright, filled with stripes, polka dots and straw.

Kellianne Safarik, who played Dorothy, was by far the best singer. Her voice stood out from the rest of the cast because of her broad range. Although her character wasn’t the most exciting role, her vocals definitely made up for it.

With four main leads, there was a lot going on on stage. Unfortunately, since there was so much going on, the characters didn’t blend together, making their scenes become cluttered.

The Wiz, played by Michael Moskewicz, was the most entertaining character. His unusual facial expressions, sarcastic tone and improvised dialogue captivated the audience. Moskewicz really used his acting chops on the stage, proving to be the right choice for the role.

The pit orchestra, composed of 33 orchestra and band memembers and nine drama singers, performed all of the music for the play. Under the supervision of director Mark McCormick, the musicians played over 20 songs masterfully. The drama singers also had small parts on stage as extras in certain scenes.

The advanced dance choreography was a clever way of representing transitions in the scenes. The tornado dancers did a superb job by performing movement that displayed the fear and confusion that Dorothy faced. Later, dancers in the aisles made the audience feel truly a part of the show.

“The Wiz” was, overall, very entertaining. It was evident that the Drama Department put a great amount of effort into the final product. The audience could tell that the drama students were enjoying themselves on stage.