THE WIZARD OF OZ: THE WICKEDLY WACKY FAMILY MUSICAL by Nicolas Hune-?Brown and Lorna Wright (Ross Petty Productions). At the Elgin (189 Yonge). To January 6. $27-?$85. 416-?872-?5555, rosspetty.com. See Continuing. Rating: NNN
Ross Petty is a riddle wrapped in an enigma stuffed into a sequined frock.
Every year, his holiday pantomimes arrive at the Elgin Theatre, loaded with pop culture jokes (Demi Potahto!) and non sequitur song-and-dance numbers. And somehow, as usual, I end up grinning through the whole damn thing.
When a snowstorm carries the Toronto-dwelling Dorothy (the adorable Elicia Mackenzie) away in a blue bin, her destination isn’t so much over the rainbow as it is overseas. Oz = Australia, the Emerald City a verdant Sydney Opera House. On her way to find the Wizard, Dorothy picks up a raw vegan Lion (Steve Ross), an insecure Scarecrow (Kyle Blair) and a sensitive miner-turned-Tin Man (a winsome Yvan Pedneault, Mackenzie’s co-star from Rock Of Ages).
They’re helped and occasionally hindered by Splenda the Good, a mildly incompetent and lispy witch (Jessica Holmes). Best of all is scene-stealer Dan Chameroy as Aunt Plumbum, a wonderful foil for Ross Petty’s gravel-voiced Wicked Witch.
The wobbly set looks like it was hauled out of a church basement, but Ben Chaisson and Beth Kates take the creaky production values in hand, using some witty projections to evoke a Toronto intersection in forced perspective. I particularly loved the streetcar repeatedly gliding past in the background.
The set list, while light on original music, smartly mixes newish songs (Lady Gaga, Shawn Desman) and retro, Glee-type tunes (Safety Dance, Macho Man). No number is a real standout it’s the wild assortment that makes it fun, the jokes that work colliding joyfully with the ones that don’t.
And if most of the choreography is in the style of a flash mob, you’ll be cheerfully following along by the time the crew hits the
Yellow Brick Road to the clever mashup of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ Home and Funkytown.
Like the Tin Man, this Wizard might move haltingly at times, but by curtain all you’ll see is its big ol’ heart of gold.
