‘Marvelous Land of Oz’ explores gender identity
Who knew there was a sequel to “The Wizard of Oz”? Anthony Whitaker did. He was so taken by “The Marvelous Land of Oz” that Whitaker turned it into a musical which debuted at the New American Folk Theatre in 2013.
Whitaker is directing a production of his musical based on L. Frank Baum’s novel Nov. 18-20 for Mudlark Theater in Evanston. Performances are 7 p.m. Nov. 18 and 19 and 3 p.m. Nov. 19 and 20.
Whitaker learned about those “The Wizard of Oz” sequels when he was 7 or 8 years old.
“I became a fan of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ first and then found out there were 13 other books,” Whitaker said. He read them all many times.
As an adult, he attended “Wizard of Oz” festivals in Chesterton, Indiana, where he began adapting the Oz books into short plays for child actors.
Whitaker decided to turn “The Marvelous Land of Oz” into a musical because he thought it was “a really interesting story, almost more interesting than the original novel,” he said. “It has some really great characters in it.”
“The Marvelous Land of Oz” is the tale of a boy named Tip who escapes his life of servitude to a witch and sets out to find the lost Princess Ozma and to learn about his own past. What he discovers about Ozma and himself is totally unexpected.
Ten-year-old Helena Grayson of Evanston plays Tip. The Willard Elementary School fifth grader has been acting since they were 5 or 6. This is Grayson’s first show at Mudlark.
Tip is “a look on the bright side kind of guy,” they said. “He’s a character that I can really have fun with. I’m trying doing him with different voices and different emotions.”
The biggest challenge of the role for Grayson is that their character “has a lot of lines,” they said.
Whitaker praised Grayson, saying, “They’re extremely talented. They have the spirit of this character. Helena was very open to exploring the role. A wonderful voice; great attitude.”
Kenilworth 13-year-old Amelie Mugg, who is a seventh grader at Willows
Academy in Des Plaines, plays the Scarecrow. She has been acting since she was 5 and has appeared in 15 productions, eight of them at Mudlark.
Mugg said that Scarecrow “is like the ruler of the Emerald City while the lost princess is gone. Scarecrow is a very happy, very smart character. I’m always saying stuff like, ‘Oh, I’ve got the biggest brain,’ which is ironic from the original movie because it’s accepted how smart he is.”
In the original Oz movie, Scarecrow sings “If I Only Had a Brain.”
“It’s a very fun production,” Mugg declared. “I’ve had so much fun with this cast and working on it. I want the audience to experience the kind of experience I’ve had throughout the production.”
“The Marvelous Land of Oz” was published in 1904 but, even though it is well over a century old, book writer, lyricist, composer and director Whitaker is convinced its themes are still relevant.
The work addresses gender identity, which Whitaker said is currently “such an important part of our lives. But it’s also about the dependence on our communities and our chosen families and our chosen tribe, and how no one is able to accomplish much on their own.”
Whitaker reported that the musical had a great original run at the New American Folk Theatre. It was so well received that it was extended for six weeks beyond its planned run. They then took the production to Oz conventions and festivals.
Unlike the Mudlark production, which has child actors, the original run was performed by adults.
Whitaker praised his Mudlark cast. “These kids are really talented and they’re extremely willing to try things,” he said.
He noted that this will be a much different production than the 2013 staging of the show.
“When I did the show the last time, the show was performed by seven adults who played multiple roles,” he related. With this 16-person cast, “we’re getting to do a full realization. It’s a bigger, broader version of the show.”