On October 9, the Sinclair theatre department will present the Broadway musical “The Wiz.” Based on the book and screenplay by William F. Brown and composed by Charlie Smalls, the musical is the winner of seven Tony Awards, including best musical of 1975. The musical was made into a cult classic movie in 1978, starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Ted Ross, an actor and singer from Dayton, Ohio, who not only played “The Cowardly Lion” in the movie version, but also the Broadway version.
Chris Harmon is the director of the production with musical direction by David McKibben and Choreography by Rodney Veal. “The Wiz” will be showcasing not only students from Sinclair’s theatre and dance department, but also from Stivers School for the Arts, community members and dancers from the South Dayton Dance Theatre.
“This may be the largest cast and crew we’ve had on Blair Hall’s stage,” said Gina Neuerer, chair of music, theatre and dance at Sinclair. “We are thrilled with the collaborations we have created and are very excited to be bringing such a huge, family-friendly production to our community.”
Not only does the musical showcases dancers, singers and actors, but it will also have a live dog to play Toto, thanks to the help of Sinclair’s Vet Tech faculty.
Harmon has worked previously with the theatre department on last year’s production of ‘Bare,’ but he said ‘The Wiz’ is a bigger production.
“I love directing this show because it is such a spectacle,” Harmon said. “Working with such a large cast from Sinclair’s theatre department, Stivers and the South Dayton Dance Theatre is such a treat.”
Harmon said when he first heard the music, he was in high school in the 90s and it reminded him of disco music, but now he gets a very different feeling when listening to the score. Harmon said his goal is to take different musical stylings and fuse them together with the music of the show.
“When I listen to the same music, in preparation of directing the show, I found the same music very ahead of its time. Contemporary songs like Bruno Mars’s ‘Uptown Funk’ reminds me of ‘The Wiz,’ so the show’s music sounds fresh,” Harmon said. “I want to keep the show pretty traditional, but I want my take on the show to have music through the ages like rock, disco, pop and jazz.”
The story of ‘The Wiz’ carries an important emotional element behind the musical that everyone can relate to, according to Harmon. He said it’s about finding out who you are and believing in yourself.
“I am a fan of ‘the Wiz’ and the story it originates from, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ because it is a story that most people can resonate with. The story has always been about wanting to belong or feeling like you are missing something only to realize what you lacked is something you have had all along.”
Harmon said he’s not sure what he wants the audience to feel when watching the musical, but he does hope they are entertained, and realize the great talent that is involved with making this show come to life.
“I just hope they are entertained by this colorful spectacle, full of great talent and great collaborators I was blessed to work with. We have been working on the show since the summer and with all the hard work put in by everyone, I hope the audience is entertained by what they see and hear,” Harmon said.
Choreographer, Rodney Veal, said ‘The Wiz’ challenged him in his process of creating choreography for the show because of how great the original director and choreographer were.
“The Wiz was a challenge for me to choreograph because of its connection to the original director and choreographer, Geoffrey Holder and the genius he was able to create,” Veal said. “It’s a challenge to take his choreography and make it for contemporary audiences, but I feel that I am up to the challenge.”
Similar to Harmon, Veal said he grew up with the album when it was first released in 1975.
“It was something that became a part of pop culture, so the music was everywhere even if no one had seen the play,” Veal said. “It was an album that was in a lot of African American households at the time.”
Veal said his favorite part of choreographing ‘The Wiz’ was creating the steps to the song, ‘Everybody Rejoice.’
“It’s just that feel good song that if you are in a bad mood, it’s that song that will make you feel like everything will be ok. Late R&B singer, Luther Vandross, wrote it— he was able to give the song a ‘Motown sound.’”
Veal said he likes to give his choreography originality by using his background in dance, as well as referring to current pop culture dance trends to bring the musical into the 21st century.
“I feel like I was able to put my own spin on the choreography though there are no real intentions on what the choreography is supposed to be like,” Veal said. “A lot of it is based on the modern dance vernacular. I make references to some current dance trends and I do not think doing so detracts from the show. It’s just putting the show into the now, so that when people see it, they can relate to it.”
According to Veal, Geoffrey Holder’s original choreography wasn’t easy, but he was ready to give the cast members a challenge.
“There is literally dancing in every scene—I have had both cast members and dancers telling me how sore they are,” Veal said.
There are approximately 40 people in the show, which would even be considered large for a Broadway production, according to Veal. With its’ mix of Sinclair and Stivers students, as well as community members, Veal said this is a huge show for Sinclair, and one of the largest shows he has choreographed.
“This show is no joke,” Veal said. “I began to plan the moment I received the news that Sinclair would be doing the show because with a show this big, you cannot just leave everything up to chance. I have been there since the beginning, in August, and I have seen so much improvement—not only in dancing, but also in singing.”
Veal said he feels like his choreography brings out the best in the cast and crew, but he hopes that it fuses well with Harmon’s view of the production and does not detract from the storyline.
“I just want it to seamlessly fit Harmon’s vision and carry the story from beginning to end. My job is not to do standout choreography, but choreography that helps everyone else’s job go smoother,” Veal said.
‘The Wiz’ debuts on October 9, and continues through October 17, The production will be performed in the Blair Hall Theatre in Building 2.
For more information visit:
http://www.sinclair.edu/arts/theatre/season/index.cfm.
Gabrielle Sharp,
Executive Editor
&
Jimaur Calhoun,
Arts & Entertainment Editor