The cast was a knockout in almost every role. There were also fun dance steps - and costumes - for the tornado and the cornfield crow numbers performed by dancers Steffi Carter and Emily Carter.
Scenic designer Reiko Huffman painted the walls with graffiti-like designs that reflected different moments from the book, and costume designer Bones Jones thought way outside the box with his eye-popping designs assembled from everyday items like curtains, plastic mesh, zip ties, sports knee pads, bottle caps, tin foil, glitter, butterfly hairclips, novelty eyeglasses and a bedazzled Etch-a-Sketch.Ĭhoreographer Alyssa “Ajay” Junious created the illusion of motion by turning the show’s yellow brick road into a costume worn by hip-hop dancer Justine Elise Banal, who guided Kansas farmgirl Dorothy and her friends to Oz. Brown and Charlie Smalls is usually produced on an epic scale - like Des McAnuff’s glitzy, star-studded 2006 staging at La Jolla Playhouse - but first-time director Chadaé Nichol found a smart way to downsize the show for the intimate Diversionary space without reducing its fantastical scope. But “The Wiz” was Teatro’s first full-fledged live show, and it celebrated the company’s depth of talent. Since then, they have produced filmed entertainment and co-produced a musical with Oceanside Theatre Company. Their vision was to create a San Diego community theater that could offer more creative opportunities to artists of color, as well as women and people in the LGBTQ and disability communities. Teatro San Diego was launched in June 2020 by longtime friends Julio Catano, who is of Mexican and Chinese heritage, Ryan Burtanog, who is Filipino, and Kevin “Blax” Burroughs, who is Black. Except for some minor sound problems during the closing performance, the only disappointment I had with “The Wiz” is that it didn’t have a longer run.
Frank Baum’s 122-year-old novel “The Wizard of Oz” - was creatively directed, with wildly imaginative costumes, excellent choreography and many memorable performances.
The musical - a rarely produced, soulful take on L. But “The Wiz,” which closed a one-weekend run Sunday at Diversionary Theatre, was worth the wait. Because of the enduring pandemic, it took fledgling Teatro San Diego more than two years to stage its first live, solo-produced theater production.