The Wonderful Blog of Oz

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Monday, April 24, 2017

Friday, April 7, 2017

Blog out of Order, Please Write

Thursday, March 30, 2017

BIG BOLD NOTE: The show dates are Fridays May 5th and 12th and Saturdays May 6th and 13th at 8pm, as well as Sundays May 7th and May 14th at 2pm Tickets are now on sale and pricing information, as well as information on advertising, boosters, and our upcoming season of summer camp, can be found here at our theater's website.

FUNDRAISER RELATED NOTE: In conjunction with the Engeman Theater, the April 2nd 7pm performance of Jekyll and Hyde will have many of its proceeds given back to NCT, which has blocked out a significant amount of tickets for people participating in the fundraiser, which can be purchased at this link here. https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/10063989/prm/COMMTHEATER You may also purchase tickets by calling Todd at 631-261-9700 extension 23, or bought in person at the box office. Just remember to mention the fundraiser! Tickets are 71 dollars each.

    Well tonight I head back to rehearsal for The Wizard of Oz for the first time in a little over a week, but without anything new to talk about regarding the show yet (except for an updated cast list at the bottom with pretty much all the remaining parts filled), it's time to take a look at a film that is a great not really-sequel and a great film overall: the 1986 Disney film Return to Oz. The only film ever directed by longtime film editor and sound designer Walter Murch, whose work ranges from America Graffiti to Apocalypse Now to all the Godfather films and so on, this is a very strange film, which is par for the course regarding Wizard of Oz, but is also very different from the 1939 film which is the most well known adaptation of the original novel by L. Frank Baum. By the time the film was released in 1986, the Oz books which the original film was based on were now public domain, so there was no need to approval from Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (or MGM), while the subsequent books (like the ones used for this film) had been optioned to Disney several years earlier.

    Let's start with a little summary of the film. It takes place 6 months after the tornado. A 9 or 10 year old Dorothy appears to feel very isolated because Aunt Em and Uncle Henry don't believe her about Oz at all. But unlike the original film where they just laugh it off and insist she's a little dazed and confused from the bump on her head, they're very worried that Dorothy may be delusional or mentally ill. 5 minutes in already gives a very different tone and feel to the film (even the playful line about how her chicken Billina should be laying eggs is kind of dark).

    Since the family barely has any more money, having lost a lot since the cyclone and apparently not longer having any working farmhands, Aunt Em gets a loan from her sister to get Dorothy some help. That comes in the form of Dr. Worley, who has an affinity for his new age machines which will supposedly make Dorothy forget all about Oz and be normal again. These machines by the way, are the late 1800s equivalent of shock therapy...yikes, that's dark. Thankfully, she escapes with the help of a sudden power outage and a girl who she saw in a mirror earlier, and manages to get away from Dr. Worley's clinic and to safety...inside a small wooden box rolling down rapids in the pouring rain while the other girl gets swept away...man, this is dark, and I'm not even up to Oz yet.

    Anyway, from here Dorothy makes it to Oz, (with her chicken Billina, who suddenly appears with her and can talk now) but it's a lot different than she remembers. The Emerald City is mostly deserted, with the exception of a 4 foot tall metal wind-up soldier known as Tik-Tok, the one man royal army of Oz, who helps Dorothy escape the town's other inhabitants, really disturbing looking creatures called the Wheelers, who pursue Dorothy since the new ruler of Oz, The Nome King, has forbidden chickens to be in the land of Oz. Dorothy goes with Tik-Tok to the castle in the Emerald City which is now occupied by the Nome King's most powerful servant, Princess Mombi, a vain witch who has 31 different heads which she likes to switch every now and then, intending to keep Dorothy imprisoned until her own head is mature enough for her to take. While imprisoned there, Dorothy comes across Jack Pumpkinhead (must...resist...obvious Nightmare Before Christmas joke-wait, didn't this movie come out first?), and with the help of Mombi's powder of life, she gains another friend called the Gump, who is made up of the head of a Gump, the body of a sofa, and wings...ok, that's weird even by Oz standards. Dorothy escapes Mombi and eventually comes across the Nome King...I'd go into more but I spoiled enough already, let's review the story a little bit.
When it comes to movies like this, there's two sides to every coin. There's positives and negatives about the story, and to be fair, not all of them are the film's fault. Apparently the film was at times marketed as a straight up sequel to the 1939 film, but if you've seen even just a little of this film, it's pretty easy to tell that it's not the case. Apart from a few winks and nods to the original film, such as the Ruby Slippers from the 1939 film replacing the silver shoes from the original book (which cost the filmmakers quite a pretty penny), or a really creepy call back to one of the 1939 film's most famous lines (if you watch the movie you'll know what I mean), this is more based on the books than the movies. Don't get me wrong, there are some liberties taken with it, such as some characters being combined (like Witch Mombi from the second book and Princess Langwidere from the third book being Princess Mombi), but nothing is distractingly bad in it. The pacing is for the most part solid, and it gives its own fresh interpretation of Oz while still staying true to the source material.

    The film does have its flaws, I'll admit. There's a bit of circumstance at times such as the powder of life that Mombi has, which is really only there to help the characters escape from Mombi's castle, as it's only mentioned once, right before they get it. The Ozma storyline is a little rushed too. The character only is mentioned a few times before the end of the film, and her importance isn't really revealed until the very end of the film (though it is admittedly less confusing than the Ozma storyline in the book). Also, Billina's role in the story is a bit tacked on. When they first go to Oz, although she doesn't contribute much, she's consistently there and talking. About halfway through the film she decides to hide inside of Jack and doesn't come back out til the one time that she's needed, and by then, we've nearly forgotten that she was there (also, whenever the Nome King and his followers mention the chicken, it sounds silly...we find out the reason for their concern later but whenever they mention the chicken, they start talking like William Shatner for some reason). Honestly though, most of the problems I mentioned are just papercuts on a nice and well thought out story.
Very few of the characters from the original film are present besides Dorothy. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry have about as much time as they do in the original film, though with their little time, show quite a bit of character. Henry has just two scenes but you feel the weight of everything he's going through in his scenes because of his performance, courtesy of longtime western actor Matt Clark. The Scarecrow only shows up for the last few minutes of Oz and only has a few lines, while the Lion and Tin Man don't speak at all, so it doesn't feel fair to critique them compared to their iconic characters of the original. I mentioned that Ozma isn't in the film much, even counting her real world equivalent in the clinic (or is it actually her? Dorothy seems to think so but she doesn't give an answer...that's kind of clever), though I find it interesting that her actress was apparently dubbed over by another actress because her real voice sounded "too British", even though her dubbed voice sounds quite a bit British itself (also, too British? They have some of the most awesome accents out there man! You can't be too British...is that the direction they gave Carrie Fisher in Star Wars? Not too British and only kind of British?).

    The Wheelers and the Nomes are interesting. The designs for the former are really creepy and would frankly terrify kids in real life, but they're also portrayed kind of like the hyenas in The Lion King, threatening, but not too intelligent. The Nomes don't show up too often, only occasionally popping up to spy on Dorothy while reporting to the Nome King, and impede Dorothy's progress in the climax, not contributing much overall. Dorothy's new friends are another story. Billina admittedly does not contribute much but she's got a few funny lines, and she does help out a lot at the end. Tik-Tok is very loyal to Dorothy immediately and is also incredibly tough, if a bit surly and unintentionally blunt, perhaps due to him being a machine (and in his perspective, not truly alive...not that he minds). Jack is kind of like the Scarecrow in that he's not the most intelligent, but is also basically a big kid, wanting to help Dorothy out, but not really being brave or being able to help. He does help out a bit at the end, albeit unintentionally. The Gump...well...he does help them get away from Mombi, but he's not in the film for too long and doesn't do much but lament having the body of a sofa for most of it (Not that I would care much for having a sofa body, mind you). Dorothy's new friends aren't bad characters by any means, but apart from Tik-Tok, they don't really get time to contribute or develop character.

    The real meat of this category is for Dorothy and the two villains. Dorothy is not the same character she was in the original film. For one, she's, as I mentioned earlier, only about 9 or 10. She's also more familiar with some sections of Oz, so she doesn't have quite the sense of awe as you'd expect since she's more familiar with it. However, in the scenes where she's frightened (which considering how dark this film is, consists of a lot), she feels a lot more vulnerable since she's just a small kid. However, she's still brave, even attempting to stand up to both Mombi and the Nome King, while still retaining a sense of politeness for the most part. She has to be sad, scared, upset, hopeful, happy, polite, and a whole mix of other conflicting emotions, but she does it beautifully, and a lot of that is due to her actress, a young Fairuza Balk. You can say it's because she's just a kid, but you can't even tell it's her. It's so bizarre to see her in this role, especially if you know her from the 90s film The Craft, where she (ironically) played a psychotic witch. But you know what? It really works.

    Princess Mombi is also a really cool villain, but considering her level of sadism (taking people's heads and all that), she seems like she'd be better as a main villain of another story rather than the servant of the Nome King in this one. We see her played by three different actresses in the film due to switching between two stolen heads and eventually her original one. The first one is only there for about 2 minutes before she switches heads and the second one only for about another two, though they do still give a decent performance. Her original head is played wonderfully by Jean Marsh. She's given a good buildup and the idea of taking people's heads is terrifying. However, once they escape from Mombi, all she really gets to do is mope, scream in frustration, and get belittled by the far stronger Nome King. Mombi is still a cool villain, but it seems like she could've been used better.

    Now we come to the Nome King, and honestly...this guy's so much cooler than he should have the right to be. Being portrayed by the late Nicol Williamson, a man with one of the coolest voices in the world, certainly helps in that regard, but there's more to the Nome King than just a cool voice. At this point I should probably give a nod to the old Oz technique of double casting, as Nicol Williamson also portrays the man in charge of the clinic in the beginning Dr. Worley. A similar setup occurs with Mombi and Nurse Wilson, as well as the Head Wheeler and one of the assistants at the clinic. In the beginning of the film, Dr. Worley is rather affable, always appearing chipper and never raising his voice, trying to reassure Dorothy that there was nothing to be afraid of, despite supposedly actually being far less innocent and locking "damaged patients" in the cellar (But are they actually or is this potentially one of many delusions Dorothy has in the clinic? No one knows for sure). So it's fitting that when Dorothy first confronts the Nome King, he is very calm and kind towards Dorothy, offering her a snack and a chance to free the Scarecrow. Even while messing around with them initially, he never loses his cool, though he does take pleasure in toying around with them...a bit too much. The Nome King's greatest weakness is his overall cockiness, he has plenty of power, even moreso that he holds the Ruby Slippers, which made it possible for him to conquer the Emerald City. He acknowledges during his conversation with Mombi that he could've easily turned Dorothy and all her friends into ornaments, but it's more fun to leave it to chance with his guessing game, believing himself to be in total control, and that Dorothy and her friends have no chance. He only loses his cool when he starts losing, first blaming Mombi and then finally letting loose and going after Dorothy in full power. Even though his ultimate defeat could've been handled a liiiittle bit better leading up to that moment (apart from every so often having a conversation with a Nome mentioning "A CHICKEN?!!!!!"), he's still an awesome villain. Once again, it's up to you to decide whether he truly believes himself to be in the right or if he's just guilt-tripping everyone while knowing full well that he's evil. The choice is up to you.

    The sets are for the most part fine in Kansas and at the clinic, though the shock therapy machine does kind of look a little like an old time radio (did they look like that in the 19th century? Someone tell me, I'm interested to know either way). When we get to Oz however, it leaps more into wow territory. It's true that Oz for the most part is nowhere near as colorful as the 1939 film, but it fits with the darker overall tone. Mombi's castle and the Nome King's lair both look phenomenal, and the land of Oz is still designed nicely. A lot of the costume are nicely designed too. You've probably grown tired of me praising these two at this point, but Mombi and the Nome King's costumes both are designed great (when the latter isn't stop motion anyway). Jack certainly has a look that stands out even if he doesn't get much time. The Gump...well...the puppet head is done quite nicely at least (His body's a couch, I can't comment much more about that...looks like a nice couch though). The Wheelers, once again, have a really creepy design which does a good job at showing who scary and demented they can be. Even at the very end at the Emerald City, there's a ton of people who come back in flamboyant colorful costumes and they all look spectactular. The one I have to draw attention to this time is Tik-Tok. First off, he's got a nice design that makes him stand out, second off is his suit actor, acrobat Michael Sundin. How he would give Tik-Tok his unique was, to quote director Walter Murch "he would put his legs down into Tik-Tok's legs, and then he would bend over looking through his legs, through his thighs, and then he would cross his arms [across his chest] to operate Tik-Tok's arms." He would then use an LCD feed inside the costume to keep track of where he was going. Due to the strain of contorting his body in this position, as well as how hot it is being inside a small metal machine, Sundin's time limit inside Tik-Tok would be about two and a half minutes per session. In addition, Tim Rose would operate the head, which moved sseparately when compared to the rest of the body. So...yeah, a lot of work was put into that.

    Some of the effects in this film still really hold up, while others...not so much. As terrifying as it is, the head effects in Mombi's castle seem pretty flawless, even when she's switching between different heads. There's also a point where one of the Wheelers is thrown into the Deadly Desert and instantly turns to sand, and the transition seems really good. Some of the stop motion in this film is also really good. I mentioned that the Nomes don't contribute too much, but the way they're animated is pretty smooth. The Nome King several times at the end of the film goes from stop motion to costume and then back to different shades of stop motion in the climax, and it seems pretty seamless. Then when he shows his final true monstrous form, it looks nothing like he did initially, but it still looks really cool and is animated pretty nicely throughout. Jack also switches to stop motion at one point but unless you know it's coming, you might not even be able to tell because it's pretty seamless.

    Again, not every effect holds up. There's a few too many instances where the green screen is too obvious around Dorothy, particularly when she first gets to Oz. Also, while the Nome King for the most part seems good, at times he goes a bit off-model and his voice morpher gets in the way at times the less human he becomes. At one point he shouts "STOP!", but the voice technology is so garbled that it sounds for a moment like he's shouting "S'UP!". Speaking of voice technology, there's a weird effect that happens to Mombi's voice toward the end of the film. When Dorothy escapes from Mombi's castle, she puts back on her original head and chases after them, then has a few more scenes before she makes her way to the Nome King's castle. But when she finally arrives there, her voice appears to been digitally altered in post to be deeper. You could say she just changed her direction to sound more monstrous, but it's particularly noticeable that it's been dubbed, since there now appears to be an audio filter whenever she speaks. Again, you could say they want her to sound more monstrous by adding to the filter, but if that's the case, why not give her the filter in the first couple of scenes when she had her original head on? Even the one line of her's at the end has the noticeable filter. I know it sounds like I'm complaining about mostly nothing but it's only because there's so few things I could find wrong with the film.

    I wanted to talk a bit about the music, but there's not too much to say. There's nothing inherently bad about the compositions, they're just not that memorable. Some of them do feel a bit out of place, but again, nothing horrible.

    In conclusion, Return to Oz is a really awesome film. Do I recommend you see it? Well...depends on what you're looking for. If you've read the books and are looking for something faithful to them, you'll sometimes be happy and sometimes a bit disappointed. If you want to see an alternate slightly more mature take on Oz, then you'll enjoy it. If you want a straight up sequel to the original 1939 film, then you're gonna be disappointed (and blame the marketing for that one). If you're just looking for a dark kid's film...you'll enjoy it. The best way to find out is to watch the film yourself. It's easy enough to find online, going at about 10 bucks on Amazon. Give it a watch and you won't be disappointed!

CAST

NOTE: Jillian Fehrenbacher, Amanda Lemza, and Nicholas Lemza have withdrawn from the production. We wish them the best in all of their future endeavors.

Dorothy Gale: Bella Donneruno (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Meaghan Maher (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Scarecrow: Justin Autz (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Sam Schoeps (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Tin Man: Barri Feuer (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Tess Robinson (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Cowardly Lion: John Walsh (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Lawrence Palevsky (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Almira Gulch: Stephanie Sultana (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Casey Savin (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Wizard of Oz: Rich Lau

Glinda: Kim Sultana (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Avery Infranco (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Emerald City Guard: John Morale (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Justin Murphy (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Aunty Em: Teresa Morale (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Barbara Schulman (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Uncle Henry: Joel Ackerman (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Joe Centamore (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Hickory: James Roche

Hunk: Gerald Quigley

Zeke: Justin Murphy

Crows: Taryn Feuer, Quincy Jackson, and Suzie Walsh (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Dana Schoeps, Jake Kalinowski, and Amelia Lau (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Trees: Judy Avena, Elise Autz (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13), and Patsy VanDyke (5/5, 5/7, and 5/14)/Noel Dillon, Cynthia Piacentini (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14), and Kathy Lau (5/6, 5/12, and 5/13)

Winkie General: Gerald Quigley (5/5, 5/12, and 5/14)/Kathy Lau (5/6 and 5/13)/Vinny Dillon (5/7)

Toto: Ella Smith (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Michael Deaner (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Mayor of Munchkin City: Luke Frisoli (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Luca Bergin (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Coroner: Luca Bergin (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Luke Frisoli (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Barrister: Andrew Geres

City Fathers: Anthony Shah and Nathan Zarko

Teachers: Carlie Rees and Alexandra Curatolo (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Annabelle Deaner and Lacey Zaharis (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Lullaby League: Amelia Eisenberg, Lily Rankin, and Cami Rees (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Goldie Centamore, Emma Morale, Ayla-Schulman Hughes, and Vivian Sultana (Unsure if all shows or "B" Days)

Lollipop Guild: Carter Eisenberg (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Kieran Brown (5/7, 5/13, and 5/14), Ryan Brown, Ryan Dean, and Jacob Karp (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)/Jude Centamore (All Shows)

Ozians: Joel Ackerman, Elise Autz, Judy Avena, Joe Centamore, Michelle Centamore, Noel Dillon, Vinny Dillon, Barri Feuer, Jillian Graci, Honey Hecht, Kimberly Lapidus, Patricia McCarthy, John Morale, Theresa Morale, Justin Murphy, Lawrence Palevsky, Cynthia Piacentini, Mia Femia Pizzo, Gerald Quigley, Kellsey Roy, Casey Savin, Barbara Schulman, Shira Schweitzer, Kim Sultana, Stephanie Sultana, Angie Tomala, Patsy VanDyke, John Walsh, and Corrie Ann Young

Jitterbugs: Justin Autz, Sarah Caulfield, Bella Donneruno, Taryn Feuer, Avery Infranco, Quincy Jackson, Arianna Keating, Grace Keating, Meaghan Maher, Sarah Meade, Tess Robinson, James Roche, Maggie Saum, Liana Scala, Dana Schoeps, Samantha Schoeps, and Celia Spero

Middle School Chorus: Julie Barbier, Luca Bergin, Juliette Bonchonsky, Bridget Caulfield, Natalie Ceonzo, Kailin Donnelly, Luke Frisoli, Riley Gayer, Andrew Geres, Jennifer Golder, Alyssa Infranco, Amelia Lau, Ava Mackey, Samantha Madden, Kyra Perles, Caitlin Rees, Nikki Scala, Nina Scala, Amelia Semple, Leeva Slevin, Emily Starin, Clare Vogt, and Suzie Walsh

"A" Flying Monkeys (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13): Sydney Aguirri, Kylie Balezos, Gabrielle Blum, Isabell Colaccio, Michael Donatelli, Lily Eagen, Julia Eisenberg, Markus Fehrenbacher, Rayna Feuer, Maggie Fitzmaurice, Ava Olsen, Elliote Salisbury, Olivia Scannapieco, Grace Sewell, Tara Weiss, Gabrielle Weissman, and Fallon Young

"B" Flying Monkeys (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14): Sienna Boden, Lily Brown, Maya Burget, Mairead Camas, Elizabeth Ceonzo, Katie Conway, Julia Dean, Rayna Feuer, Lindsay Grabowski, Ethan Hoerning, Sofia Kabacinski, Katie Karp, Liam McLaughlin, Lily Majewski, Kelly Ricciardi, and Luc Wagner

"A" Poppies (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13): Alexandra Colacicco, Quinn Fehrenbacher, Juliet Morale, Joey Pizzo, Reilly Salisbury, and Juliet Scannapieco

"B" Poppies (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14): Juliette Bergin, Casey Bernson, Liam Caulfield, Hannah Feinstein, Chloe Gucciardo, Brody Mackey, Trixie Moran, Cate Ricciardi, Ella Smith, and Chloe Wagner

Munchkin Wranglers: Jillian Graci and Mia Femia Pizzo

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Ding Dong, the Blog is Up!

BIG BOLD NOTE (Again): The show dates are Fridays May 5th and 12th and Saturdays May 6th and 13th at 8pm, as well as Sundays May 7th and May 14th at 2pm Tickets are not on sale at the moment but pricing information, as well as information on advertising, boosters, and our upcoming season of summer camp, can be found here at our theatre's website.

      Written by: Justin Murphy

      Date of Rehearsals Listed: 3/20 and 3/21

      Rehearsal Location: NCT

      I should probably clarify something regarding these blogs. There's been more than two rehearsals for this blog (in fact, there was one tonight too), but remember, as a cast member, if I'm not called for a particular rehearsal, then I can't cover it at all. Sorry about that for anyone who's curious about what happens on nights when only certain people are called. Now then, on to the blog!

      For the rehearsal on March 20th, at the beginning, there were two sets of people called, the Munchkins and everyone in the show's first few scenes at the farm in Kansas were all called at 7, while the full cast was called at 8 (I showed up a little early). Bette mentioned a few more things about the show, such as paying the entrance fee and mentioning that Courtney, the costumer, would likely arrive next week, as well as Holly, the choreographer, to teach the Munchkins their dance.   She also plugged a few upcoming things like our NCT fundraiser at the Engeman*, and our NCT 15th anniversary tote bag.**

    The Munchkin children spent their time working with Donna on learning their two songs, as their scene contains quite a bit of musical numbers, from "The House Began to Pitch" to "Ding Dong, the Witch is dead", and then "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". The people in those first farm scenes would head into a separate hallway with grand stupendous poobah director extraordinaire*** Jim to work on those first farm scenes (minus both Dorothys, who along with a few other students, were absent this evening due to prior high school engagements). In addition, the early arriving adult males (John Morale, Vinny Dillon, and myself) were brought into the hallway too at Bette's suggestion to give a potential hand, as the third farmhand had yet to be cast. We read through the scene about 3 or 4 times, getting a feel for the scene as well as sharing some interesting tidbits, such as a placement of a word that means nothing in England (where the script was adapted) but is quite offensive in the states, sort of like how spastic is relatively fine to use in the states, but is quite offensive in England.**** By the end of the night, all three farmhands were cast (which farmhands are played by which cast member has yet to be confirm. We think we have it figured out, but you never know).

      After quite a bit of progress, we returned to the main hallway, where we worked some more on The Merry Old Land of Oz. Since Dorothy wasn't there, Barri Feuer, one of two actresses playing The Tin Man, stood in for Dorothy in addition to her own part of the Tin Man. This time, the song incorporated the beginning parts involving the main quartet***** and the Emerald City Guard's solo. Donna was very impressed with the solos and the group singing, sounding as if we had had plenty of practice on the song and weren't just working on it as a full group for the second time. We even worked on the tiny reprise, which is fitting as the Munchkins song ends the same way that this one does...everyone screaming at the sight of the Wicked Witch (except this time, rather than a bunch of kids, it's a bunch of adults who are scared stiff by the witch).

      I don't have quite as much to talk about regarding the next rehearsal, as I was only present for about a half hour of it. Jim worked with everyone in the Scarecrow's introduction scene (namely Dorothy, Toto, The Scarecrow, and The Crows), closing the curtain to separate them from Donna, who worked with both the Guard and Glinda during that time. Donna worked first with the Guard, once again on the solo in The Merry Old Land of Oz, since this was the first time she had both Guards together to work on the solo part of the song, at separate having us do the song individually, and then one at a time, to make sure we both understood the song and could hit the notes properly. After this was over, Donna presumably worked with both Glindas on their solo numbers in "Come out Come out" and "You're Out of the Woods" as was scheduled, but I cannot verify as both myself and John Morale (the other guard), departed following the work on our song, as it was the only thing we were needed for during the evening.

      I am not being called for any rehearsals next week with the exception of next Thursday at the moment, so next Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll be doing something a little different for the blog. I'm going to write an opinion piece on a film I first heard about from The Nostalgia Critic, watched for the first time 8 years ago, and was reminded of by Stephanie Sultana (thanks Steph!), that being the 1986 Disney/Jim Henson feature film Return to Oz! Why do I feel it's worth talking about for a whole blog entry? Well come back next week and find out, and being that I mentioned that the rehearsal sections on Tuesday were separated by a curtain, I can't think of a better quote to end this blog on.

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" -The Wizard of Oz

*: In conjunction with the Engeman Theater, the April 2nd performance of Jekyll and Hyde will have many of its proceeds given back to NCT, which has blocked out a significant amount of tickets for people participating in the fundraiser, which can be purchased at this link here. https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/10063989/prm/COMMTHEATER You may also purchase tickets by calling Todd at 631-261-9700 extension 23, or bought in person at the box office. Just remember to mention the fundraiser! Tickets are 71 dollars each.

**: Priced at a nifty 15 dollars! Buy buy buy! And remember, you're hearing it from a guy who was a traveling salesman! (Or a guy who played one once)

***: I know I said I'd try to top my description of Jim every blog, but this description's better than the last one for a very simple reason...I actually spelled poobah right this time! I mean poohab? Come on, brain! Now I feel bad for correcting someone's spelling earlier today...spellcheck may become a good friend of mine starting with this blog...a good thing too because I almost just misspelled the word traveling! Come on, brain!!!

****: Mario Party 8 was even recalled from UK stores for a few weeks due to its use of the word spastic. It was later re released with the word removed.

*****: From now on, whenever I say that, assume I'm talking about Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin Man, and The Cowardly Lion.

NOTE: Daniel Schweitzer has withdrawn from the show within the past week. We wish him the best in all of his future endeavors. In addition, Amanda and Nicholas Lemza's status for the show is in question, but they have not officially withdrawn from the production.

SECOND NOTE: Any new cast members or new casting information such as splits or newly decided parts will be in bold print.

CAST

Dorothy Gale: Bella Donneruno (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Meaghan Maher (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Scarecrow: Justin Autz (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Sam Schoeps (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Tin Man: Barri Feuer (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Tess Robinson (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Cowardly Lion: John Walsh (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Lawrence Palevsky (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Almira Gulch: Stephanie Sultana (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Casey Savin (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Wizard of Oz: Rich Lau

Glinda: Kim Sultana (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Avery Infranco (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Emerald City Guard: John Morale (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Justin Murphy (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Aunty Em: Teresa Morale (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Barbara Schulman (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Uncle Henry: Joel Ackerman (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Joe Centamore (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Farmhands: Gerald Quigley, James Roche, and Justin Murphy

Crows: Taryn Feuer, Quincy Jackson, and Suzie Walsh (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Dana Schoeps, Jake Kalinowski, and Amelia Lau (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Trees: Judy Avena, Elise Autz (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13), and Patsy VanDyke (5/5, 5/7, and 5/14)/Noel Dillon, Cynthia Piacentini (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14), and Kathy Lau (5/6, 5/12, and 5/13)

Winkie General: Gerald Quigley (5/5, 5/12, and 5/14)/Kathy Lau (5/6 and 5/13)/Vinny Dillon (5/7)

Toto: Ella Smith (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13)/Michael Deaner (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14)

Ozians: Joel Ackerman, Elise Autz, Judy Avena, Honey Brown, Joe Centamore, Michelle Centamore, Noel Dillon, Vinny Dillon, Barri Feuer, Jillian Graci, Kimberly Lapidus, Patricia McCarthy, John Morale, Theresa Morale, Justin Murphy, Lawrence Palevsky, Cynthia Piacentini, Mia Femia Pizzo, Gerald Quigley, Kellsey Roy, Casey Savin, Barbara Schulman, Shira Schweitzer, Kim Sultana, Stephanie Sultana, Angie Tomala, Patsy VanDyke, John Walsh, and Corrie Ann Young

Jitterbugs: Justin Autz, Bella Donneruno, Taryn Feuer, Avery Infranco, Quincy Jackson, Arianna Keating, Grace Keating, Meaghan Maher, Tess Robinson, James Roche, Maggie Saum, Dana Schoeps, and Samantha Schoeps

Other High Schoolers: Sarah Caulfield, Sarah Meade, Liana Scala, and Celia Spero

Middle School Chorus (presumably Poppies and Snowmen): Julie Barbier, Luca Bergin, Juliette Bonchonsky, Bridget Caulfield, Natalie Ceonzo, Kailin Donnelly, Jillian Fehrenbacher, Luke Frisoli, Riley Gayer, Andrew Geres, Jennifer Golder, Alyssa Infranco, Amelia Lau, Ava Mackey, Samantha Madden, Kyra Perles, Caitlin Rees, Nikki Scala, Nina Scala, Amelia Semple, Leeva Slevin, Emily Starin, Clare Vogt, and Suzie Walsh

"A" Munchkins (5/5, 5/7, and 5/13): Sydney Aguirri, Kylie Balezos, Gabrielle Blum, Kieran Brown (5/7, 5/13, and 5/14), Jude Centamore, Goldie Centamore, Alexandra Colaccio, Isabell Colaccio, Alexandra Curatolo, Annabelle Deaner, Michael Deaner, Michael Donatelli, Lily Eagen, Amelia Eisenberg, Carter Eisenberg, Julia Eisenberg, Markus Fehrenbacher, Quinn Fehrenbacher, Rayna Feuer, Maggie Fitzmaurice, Emma Morale, Juliet Morale, Ava Olsen, Joey Pizzo (5/7 and 5/13), Lily Rankin, Cami Rees, Carlie Rees, Elliote Salisbury, Reilly Salisbury, Juliet Scannapieco, Olivia Scannapieco, Grace Sewell, Anthony Shah, Vivian Sultana, Tara Weiss, Gabrielle Weissman, Fallon Young, and Nathan Zarko

"B" Munchkins (5/6, 5/12, and 5/14): Juliette Bergin, Casey Bernson, Sienna Boden, Lily Brown, Ryan Brown, Maya Burget, Mairead Camas, Liam Caulfield, Jude Centamore, Goldie Centamore, Elizabeth Ceonzo, Katie Conway, Julia Dean, Ryan Dean, Annabelle Deaner, Hannah Feinstein, Rayna Feuer, Lindsay Grabowski, Chloe Gucciardo, Ethan Hoerning, Sofia Kabacinski (5/6 and 5/14), Jacob Karp, Katie Karp, Liam McLaughlin, Brody Mackey, Lily Majewski, Trixie Moran, Cate Ricciardi, Kelly Ricciardi, Ayla Schulman-Hughes, Ella Smith, Vivian Sultana, Chloe Wagner, Luc Wagner, and Lacey Zaharis

The specific Munchkin roles including The Mayor, The Coroner, The Barrister, The 3 City Fathers, The 2 School Teachers, The Fiddler, The Braggart, The Lullaby League, and The Lollipop Guild have yet to be officially cast.

Nikko, the commander of the Flying Monkeys, has yet to be cast.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Somewhere Over the Blog

BIG BOLD NOTE: The show dates are Fridays May 5th and 12th and Saturdays May 6th and 13th at 8pm, as well as Sundays May 7th and May 14th at 2pm Tickets are not on sale at the moment but pricing information, as well as information on advertising, boosters, and our upcoming season of summer camp, can be found here at our theatre's website.

     Written by: Justin Murphy

      Date of Rehearsals Listed: 3/13

      Rehearsal Location: Northport-East Northport Community Theatre (henceforth known as NCT)

      Well, it's been another four months since the last show ended, and now at long last, the NCT show blog returns! Let's see if I can manage to get more than 6 entries this time. We have about 7.5 weeks to go until the moment of truth, so let's enjoy the delicious 31st flavor as we prepare for the Northport-East Northport Community Theatre's 31st show, Cinderella*-I MEAN, The Wizard of Oz!

      This edition of the returning blog covers the first (and thus far, only) rehearsal for Wizard of Oz. As is standard procedure, the show began with a breakdown on how things are done by Bette Silver, one of the founders and the producer of every show thus far. Due to the theater as always being non-profit, she went into a description of pricing of both the show and costumes, as the theater often depends on its actors for a lot of the income (as well as ticket sales). The lead costumer for our previous show, Courtney Hotis, is returning for this show, though considering how iconic this show's costumes are, quite a few more will be renting as opposed to providing costumes themselves. And speaking of a few more...yeah, a few more people tried out for this show, almost one hundred and fifty auditioned for this one! Returning crew members once again include longtime Stage Manager Alyson Graci, Tech and Lightning Director Rob Miller, and Assistant Lighting Director Theo Lau, all of whom have withstood the test of time and only gotten better at making the shows better. Also returning is two time NCT Choreographer Holly Maddock, who previously choreographed 2014's Fiddler on the Roof and 2015's Music Man.

      Following Bette's set of announcements, she turned it over to our grand stupendous poobah director extraordinaire (I'm gonna see if I can top that description as the blogs go on), Jim Redding. Having not directed this show for 13 years at NCT, Jim had quite a lot to talk about. For the third time in a row, the show was based on a very popular movie classic, and more or less follows the same plot as the movie, but with a few additions and changes to suit musical theater properly. The stage show script was actually adapted by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987. Jim told a story of how when the show premiered that year in London (and used costuming that was less Wizard of Oz and more based off Wizard of Oz spinoff, The Wiz), it was a massive success, but it was very poorly received in the United States. Interestingly, when it was done again in the US and the only real difference was that the costumes were closer to the movie, it was now seen as a massive success again.

      Some things are very similar to the movie and some are different. One difference our show will have is that the farmhands will not also be playing the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow, as they do in the movie, in part because the costuming for the trio is very elaborate and in part because the cast is so huge. The same applies to Aunty Em, who is stated in the script to be the same actress who plays Glinda, and Uncle Henry, who is stated to be the Emerald City Guard (neither of which is true in our cast). The exception to this rule is that Professor Marvel will also be the Wizard and Miss Almira Gulch will still be the Wicked Witch. In addition, it was stated that Toto, who in the previous production was played by an actual dog, will be played by a human actor (a couple of very small ones), though which kids would be playing the part has not yet been decided. Also, while most songs will be familiar to fans of the movie, one of the songs which was cut from the movie is reinstated in the show, that being the Jitterbug number in Act 2 right before the Flying Monkeys attack. Some characters have a few additional scenes, like the Witch, who has a considerably larger amount of dialogue, both threatening and at times comedic, added to the show. He also explained how certain effects would work, such as the Witch appearing and disappearing, and how Glinda appears and disappears.

      Jim also suggested that those of us who were "Google and YouTube peoples" to check out the 1910 film version of Wizard of Oz, and being that I, much like quite a few of the other cast members had a day off due to a Nor'easter that admittedly was a bit over hyped, did just that. It was honestly very fascinating. It was only 13 minutes long and had no voices, only a few title cards describing what was going on in the scene every now and then, as well as no sound effects aside from the soundtrack of the Nutcracker. Some of the sets, effects, and costumes looked incredible, especially coming from a film that was hundreds of years old, a time when going out to see a movie might just be about a minute of a train pulling into a station (which would send people running out of the theater in a panic due to thinking an actual train was approaching). Unfortunately the credits to the film are lost, so rumors and guesses are all we have to go on for the cast and crew. But it is still a very enjoyable watch and if you have 13 minutes of free time, it's very easy to find online and it's worth it for any Oz historian.

       Once again, when Jim announced the roles that were cast, he added a bit of comedic flair to it, cracking several jokes about some of the characters and actors, with his traditional quick-witted sense of humor. He had a chat about the casting of the Tin Man, who would be played by two women, and why he believes that the character should always be played by a woman, as he feels it adds something to the role. He also got a laugh regarding the Scarecrow's casting, first by claiming he would play the Scarecrow himself, and then by stating that the Scarecrow's actual two actors (Justin Autz and Sam Schoeps) will probably be the only double cast people who can wear the same costume due to their similar body shape and height, whereas the other double cast roles are considerably different looking from each other. He also stated when he cast the trees, for the cast to look at the actresses playing the parts, "give them a hug, because in a few weeks, their tree designs are going to give you nightmares". It was also stated that because so many people auditioned for the show and were so good, every single member of the main cast of characters had been double-cast, including but not limited to, Dorothy, the Lion, the Tin Man, the Lion, the Witch, Glinda, the Emerald City Guard, Aunty Em, Uncle Henry, Toto, and even some smaller roles like the Winkie General and possibly the trees. The lone exception to this among the main cast was the Wizard of Oz himself, played by multi-time leading man at NCT, Rich Lau. We have such a vast cast that the ensemble will most likely be split as well. It's also interesting to note how different our cast is in terms of age. Even some people who are split in the same part are vastly different in terms of acting style and age both. The youngest member of our cast is 2 and a half, and our oldest cast member is...well...older than that. It's also worth noting how long some cast members have been at NCT and how some have had long periods of absence. For instance, it's been 8 years since Casey Savin (who is playing the Witch along with Stephanie Sultana) has performed at NCT (and we're super special awesome glad she's back), whereas this is Samantha Schoeps's 24th show in a row here!

      Shortly following cast announcements, Jim turned it over to our returning Musical Director, Donna Gorelick. Since she didn't have the most time with the whole cast (after 8:00, the main cast was dismissed and only the main quartet of characters remained to stick around, so whatever happened during that time, I don't know), she decided to work on the one song that everyone in the cast would be singing, The Merry Old Land of Oz. Due to not having had time yet to work on the individual parts of the songs with the main quartet, Donna skipped to the chorale parts of the song that the entire cast would sing. Thankfully, the actors and actresses picked up on the song very quickly, probably due in no small part to how iconic a lot of the show's songs are. The only thing she needed to correct us on was the "Ah-ha-ha" at one part, which we at first kept singing as "Ha-Ha-Ha", but it was easily fixed. Being that a lot of people know the songs, the audience would naturally notice if a word was changed or unintelligible.

      I don't know how it went after I left with the main quartet, nor will I know about tomorrow's rehearsal with the Munchkins and Glinda, but knowing this show, it's not going to take very long for the cast to get the hang of it, which is good because we open in about 7 and a half weeks (AAAAH! That's more time than we had for Miracle, but still, AAAAH!). Other things to note include that once again, there is an acting workshop that Jim will be teaching for the duration of the show prior to Tuesday and Thursday rehearsals, for any cast member that wants to learn and get better onstage (and you're never too old to learn, after all). Join us next week where I'll breakdown the upcoming Thursday rehearsal, as well as the two rehearsals next week that I'll be attending! And once again, I will leave you with a quote, quite possibly the most famous quote from the show.

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." -Dorothy Gale

*: The original plan for this NCT show was for it to be the Rodgers and Hammerstein version of Cinderella. Due to it being on tour, we were unable to get the license for it.

CAST

Dorothy Gale: Meaghan Maher/Bella Donneruno
Scarecrow: Sam Schoeps/Justin Autz
Tin Man: Tess Robinson/Barri Feuer
Cowardly Lion: John Walsh/Larry Palevsky
Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Almira Gulch: Casey Savin**/Stephanie Sultana
Wizard of Oz: Rich Lau
Glinda: Avery Infranco/Kim Sultana
Emerald City Guard: John Morale/Justin Murphy
Aunty Em: Teresa Morale/Barbara Schulman**
Uncle Henry: Joel Ackerman/Joe Centamore
Farmhands: Gerald Quigley, James Roche, ???? (The last one is at the moment undecided)
Crows: Dana Schoeps, Jake Kalinowski, and ???? (The last one is at the moment undecided)
Trees: Kathy Lau, Judy Avena**, Patsy VanDyke, Noel Dillon, Elise Autz, and Cynthia Piacentini
Winkie General: Gerald Quigley/Kathy Lau

**: These people were in the original 2004 NCT production of the Wizard of Oz.

Although the Elementary School children will be Munchkins, the specific Munchkin roles including The Mayor, The Coroner, The Barrister, The 3 City Fathers, The 2 School Teachers, The Fiddler, The Braggart, The Lullaby League, and The Lollipop Guild have yet to be officially cast.

The Poppies and The Snowmen have yet to be officially announced for an age group.

The Jitterbugs will be High School Students, though the Lead Jitterbug dancer has yet to be cast.

The Adults will play Ozians and the Adult Males will play Winkies.

Nikko, the commander of the Flying Monkeys, and Toto, have yet to be cast.

Other Adults

Michelle Centamore
Vincent Dillon
Jillian Graci
Kimberly Lapidus
Patricia McCarthy
Mia Femia Pizzo
Kellsey Roy
Daniel Schweitzer
Shira Schweitzer
Angie Tomalo
Corrie Ann Young

Other Boys

Luca Bergin
Kieran Brown
Liam Caulfield
Jude Centamore
Ryan Dean
Michael Deaner
Michael Donatelli
Carter Eisenburg
Markus Fehrenbacher
Quinn Fehrenbacher
Luke Frisoli
Andrew Geres
Ethan Hoerning
Jacob Karp
Nicholas Lemza
Brody Mackey
Liam McLaughlin
Joey Pizzo
Anthony Shah
Luc Wagner
Nathan Zarko

11 and Older Girls

Julie Barbier
Juliette Bonchonsky
Maya Burget
Bridget Caulfield
Sarah Caulfield
Natalie Ceonzo
Alexandra Curatolo
Kailin Donnelly
Jillian Fehrenbacher
Taryn Feuer
Riley Gayer
Jennifer Golder
Alyssa Infranco
Quincy Jackson
Arianna Keating
Grace Keating
Amelia Lau
Amanda Lemza
Ava Mackey
Samantha Madden
Sarah Meade
Ava Olson
Kyra Perles
Caitlin Rees
Maggie Saum
Liana Scully
Nikki Scully
Nina Scully
Amelia Semple
Leeva Slevin
Celia Spero
Emily Starin
Clare Vogt
Suzie Walsh

10 and under Girls

Sydney Aguirri
Kylie Balezos
Juliette Bergin
Casey Bernson
Gabrielle Blum
Sienna Boden
Lily Brown
Mairead Camas
Goldie Centamore
Elizabeth Ceonzo
Alexandra Colacchio
Isabella Colacchio
Katie Conway
Julia Dean
Annabelle Deaner
Lily Eagen
Amelia Eisenburg
Julia Eisenburg
Hannah Feinstein
Rayna Feuer
Maggie Fitzmaurice
Lindsay Grabowski
Sofia Kabacinski
Katie Karp
Lily Majewski
Emma Morale
Juliet Morale
Trixie Moran
Lily Rankin
Cami Rees
Carlie Rees
Cate Ricciardi
Kelly Ricciardi
Elliotte Salisbury
Reilly Salisbury
Juliet Scannapieco
Olivia Scannapieco
Ayla Schulman-Hughes
Grace Sewell
Ella Smith
Vivian Sultana
Chloe Wagner
Tara Weiss
Gabrielle Weissman
Fallon Young
Lacey Zaharis