‘Wiz’ pushes into fantastic realm of queer culture
TUTS sheds tradition with actors and dancers of all kinds and nod to ’70s fashion
How very Lady Gaga. How very RuPaul. Theatre Under The Stars’ “The Wiz,” at the Hobby Center through Nov. 4, is an unabashedly queer-culture interpretation of the 1974 musical, a vision that rescues the “Oz”-inspired production from outdated predictability.
This staging of the musical feels modern and exciting. Nor is there any hint of the heteronormative, white supremacist standards of beauty that weigh down nearly all classic musicals like wet baggage. Instead, here are beautiful dancers and artists of all kinds, presented with the kind of glamour, strength and no-apologies flamboyance that would make Gaga or Ru proud.
Director Robert O’Hara and costume designer Dede Ayite have given Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown’s take on “The Wizard of Oz” a flurry of gorgeous costumes. Fishnet, unitards, exposed abs, diamond-studded tuxedos, Chuck Taylors juxtaposed with “Blade Runner”-esque aesthetics — these are the costumes not of a traditional musical but of a queer-friendly pop concert.
Notice how the 1970s fashion complements the homages to Elizabethan royalty and you could say that, well, Prince did it first. But O’Hara and Ayite do more than borrow from their influences. They push fashion into a fantastical realm, where what people wear is less about making a personal statement than telling you something about their world — it’s clothing woven with the fabric of science fiction. Henchmen wear do-rags and fishnets, an image filled with wonderful commentary about race and masculinity that need not be over-explained. Other minions wear plague doctor masks and tight dancer’s outfits with black frills, a sublime melding of goth and drag.
Oz, after all, is a land of dreams and possibility. The story, whose themes include self-discovery, bravery and empowerment, takes on new light when you see that the production doesn’t care much about unnecessary tradition. There are no set changes, only an “Alice in Wonderland”-esque doorway and projection screen. The screen serves the purpose of all changes in location, displaying simple images such as a storm, a hot-air balloon or an Emerald palace.
And O’Hara is not constrained by the dictates of gender, casting women to play the Wiz (Marva Hicks) and Lion (Allyson Kaye Daniel) and making the switch seem effortless. The message about imagination is clear — theater, which worshippers describe as a “transformative art,” isn’t Kansas, it’s Oz.
Yvette Monique Clark is a showstealer as Evilene/Glinda. I also could not take my eyes off the fantastic dancer and singer Paris Nix, who plays the Tinman. Too bad, on the first half of opening night, the band drowned out most of the vocals. After intermission, the issue with sound levels was largely resolved, and we were able to hear the singers. Turns out they’re vivacious.
The sound was the sole issue of an otherwise superb showcase of sequin-lined flamboyance, a show that offers us new possibilities on how to do revivals, the kind of visionary effort that makes all of us wonder: When will O’Hara come back to Houston to direct again?