The Wiz with a Twist

Jill Epstein ‘12

Lions and tigers and Snooki, oh my! After countless hours of hard work and practice, the cast and crew of The Wiz succeeded in staging yet another enjoyable THS production.

Originally, The Wiz was a Broadway play based on L. Frank Baum’s novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The tale was adapted in the 1970’s to celebrate African- American culture, and featured an all-black cast throughout its four year run. Just as the original plot was given a cultural spin, Artistic Director and teacher Mrs. Spillane decided to put a modern Trumbull High twist on the script.

As expected, the THS version of The Wiz stayed true to the well known tale of Dorothy Gale, a young girl from Kansas who is swept up in a twister and deposited in the mystical land of Oz. She longs to return home, and journeys to the Emerald City in search of the aid of the all-powerful Wiz. Along the way she befriends the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Lion, and takes them along with her. But you already knew that.

However, The Wiz truly came to life when it deviated from this well known plot. When Dorothy (senior Liz McCormack) first lands in Oz, she meets the perky witch Addaperle (sophomore Jacquelyn Sheehan), enthusiastically armed with a latte, a pink track suit, a colorful pack of texting Munchkins, and, of course a “magical” I-Pad.

This modernization continues as Dorothy teams up with the witty Scarecrow (senior Lucy Flucker and the “lax bro” Tinman (junior Ryan McEniry), whose ax has been replaced with a lacrosse stick and whose oil comes in Gatorade bottles.

The Lion (senior Andrew Tallian) truly steals the show, inserting sassy and entertaining pop culture references to psychiatrists and popular youtube videos.

In a similar fashion, senior Natalie Clift took the stage by storm as Evillene, a feisty parody of Jersey Shore’s Snooki. Her minions slaved away onstage, forced to participate in “gym, tan, laundry,” as she barked orders and pranced to and fro with a sky high hair-do.

And of course, one cannot neglect the Wiz himself, played by the talented junior, Matthew Johnson. As with the rest of the play, the Wiz upheld the modern vibe by bestowing gifts of the 21st Century upon the four friends, and taking the opportunity to crack an Ironman joke.This cast certainly did not lack talent, from the skilled harmonies of the Twister Sisters to the coordinated moves of the dancers, led by Nicole Isaac, Ya’ Monei Teel, and Carly Phillips. Said Isaac, “It was such a fun and amazing experience to be the dance captain this year....It was stressful sometimes, but having that responsibility helped me to get so much closer to the rest of the cast.”

“This show was a risk for us and is a big change from last year’s Fiddler on the Roof, but if I may say so myself, we pulled it off well. All of the late nights, early mornings, coffees and Redbulls paid off in the end, and I couldn’t be more proud of the cast and crew for all that they have accomplished,” said Student Producer Sam Maloney.