The Big Oz
The Big Oz
Written and Directed by Jay Hopkins
Starring Keith Charles Traver, Sara Lockard, and Robert Diachesyn
Jester Theatre Company
Presented at the Orlando Shakespeare Center</strong>
“Toto, I don’t think we’re at the Fringe Festival anymore.” I had to get that line out of the way; it would have just loomed over this post if I didn’t say it somewhere, somehow. “The Wizard of Oz” is the sort of modern cultural touchstone Cupid and Psyche offered to the ancient Greeks, and modern writers can feel free to slice and dice it into whatever they want, knowing full well even Bosnian refugees will get the gag. In the case of Jay Hopkins and the Sak crew, that transformation takes Dorothy and Toto into the Film Noir world of molls and tough guys and high minded loners working to save the world.
In Meta Kansas, Frances (Trever) is in love with (Tootsie) Sara Lockard, but her dad (Robert Diachesyn) disproves and since he runs the town, it’s no dice for these kids. He beats Frances with his 5 iron and everyone is transported to Meta Oz and we transition from a Technicolor Techno dance club to black and white land of sight gas and film school jokes. Frances wakes up in an amnesiac state with Tootsie as his side kick, the Tin Man (Maria Ragen) wears a ball gown and knows everyone in town, the Scarecrow (Michael Knight) is a law school dropout, and the Cowardly Lion (Grail Schroeder) is a thug who’s lost his bouncer bone. Jokes fly, there’s plenty of tough guy action (courtesy of fight coordinator Bill Warriner) and I found the reflections off the Tins Man’s dress fascinating.
Is there a deep meaning here? Heck no, its gag driven comedy at its best with no respect for the fourth wall and a troupe of comic wizards. High points include Mr. Diacheysn’s self-absorbed tough guy Wicked Mitch of the West, Adam Scharf’s bouncy enforcer who laws looks like he’s about to twinkle up into the rafters, and Marcie Schwalm as the hoodie-wearing DJ and District Attorney in Oz. Some of the jokes are groaners, some come flying out of left field, and even if something doesn’t quite connect, the next joke is there so fast you can’t draft a decently outraged letter to the producer. This show originated in the 1999 Orlando fringe, I liked it then and I like it today. It’s been a long 15 years.
For more information on Jester Theater Company, please visit http://www.jestertheater.com
