Corrections and clarification appended.

Brandeis Ensemble Theater’s production of “The Wiz” rocked the Shapiro Campus Center Theater this weekend with a lively performance full of dancing, singing and a whole lot of energy.

“The Wiz” is a play that re-imagines the classic “The Wizard of Oz” in an urban African American context. It was directed by Naya Stevens ’16 and D’Andre Young ’16 and featured an entirely black cast.

There were a few particular components of this production that shone beyond the rest, one of which was the choreography. The production contained many complex dance scenes, choreographed by Bronte Velez ’16. The nimbleness and flexibility of the dancers were astonishing and took over the stage whenever put to use.

The first major dance number was composed of two dancers who personified the twister that carried Dorothy (Xaviera Sargeant ’16) away to Oz. The dancers were completely captivating as they moved around a disoriented Dorothy, representing both chaos and beauty. Some of the other dances included the crows tormenting the Scarecrow, the poppies drugging the Lion and the entourage at the Emerald City welcoming Dorothy and her crew. While the singing was perfectly fine, it was the dancing that really stole the show.

Matching the choreography in its spectacularity were the costumes. Wowing the audience with their designs, each more beautiful and colorful than the last, was an army of six costume designers: Queen White '16, Amanda Anderson '17, Consuelo Pereira-Lazo '19, Deborah V. Fataki '19, Carmen Landaverde '19, and Justus Davis '19. Executive Costume Designer Ana-Sofia Meneses ’16 oversaw the group.

The Cowardly Lion (Tawanna Johnson ’16) wore an orange cat suit with a headdress and fur vest as a mane and a tail coming out the back. Glinda the Good Witch of the North (Nyah Macklin ’16) wore a costume that made her look like an angel, with a white dress, a crown and a sort of white veil that hung down her back. The munchkins were perhaps the most colorful, from their feet to the tops of their different-colored afros. Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West (Alex Campbell ’16) wore a gorgeous corseted, fitted black and red outfit that matched her character.

There were some issues with the tech, however beautiful some of it was. The sound, designed by Samantha Levine ’18 and Emma Cyr ’19, had repeated problems throughout the performance. The music was often too loud for the actors’ voices to be heard above it. The microphones often cut out and made loud screeching noises. This was sad because while the play was extremely enjoyable, it was made less so by the fact that it was often hard to hear what was being said on stage.

This was not helped by a lot of the actors mumbling their lines and not enunciating. It was also hard to hear actors, because they repeatedly had their backs turned to the audience and were blocking other actors on stage.

The set, constructed by Sivan Ertel ’18 and Harry Furer ’17 and designed principally by Chinyere Brown '17, much of which consisted of painted panels hanging from the ceiling to show the background, was beautiful and often color-coded to match the setting. The panels for Munchkin Land depicted colorful houses by the sea, with a strip of the yellow brick road woven between them. The scene where Dorothy finds the Scarecrow (Kristen Ward-Chalk ’16) had panels that depicted a wheat field. The panels at the Emerald City were colored green with green lighting, done by lighting designers Micaela Kiley ’16 and Zak Kolar ’18. Likewise, the panels at the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West were colored red, with red lighting to match. While beautiful, there was a lot of awkwardness in moving them on and off the stage. There were times when the audience was left in darkness for an extended period of time while they were being moved. This disrupted the flow of the play and was disconcerting.

Adding to the play’s mission to spotlight typically under-represented communities, the majority of the cast was composed of women who delivered stunning performances. It will be hard to forget Campbell’s terrifying and seductive portrayal of Evillene or Johnson’s sassy and heartwarming portrayal of the Cowardly Lion. While Kariyana Colloway ’19 was unimpressive as Aunty Em, she dominated the stage with her big personality as The Wiz. Unfortunately, Xaviera Sargeant ’16 was underwhelming as Dorothy. Her singing was pitchy, and her performance was rather bland. It is lucky she had Ward-Chalk’s Scarecrow, Makalani Na’im Mack‘s ’16 Tin Man and Johnson’s Lion to back her up, all of whom were spectacular. Remi Matthews ’19 as Lord High Underling with his whip also dazzled.

Despite some of the sound, blocking and run-crew issues, as well as the difficulty in being able to interpret what actors said, the production was overall a hit. It was never dull and always full of spectacle to impress audiences. Young said in his director’s note, “[‘The Wiz’ is] a gateway for over thirty black students to take action through art, singing and choreograph their own visions and stories of the black experience.” This was certainly accomplished. 

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that four dancers personified the twister. There were only two dancers.

An earlier version of this article implied that Ana-Sofia Meneses '16 was principally responsible for the show's costume design. Meneses oversaw the costuming, but did not design the costumes. She was credited as the Executive Costume Designer.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the set was designed by Sivan Ertel '18 and Harry Furer '17. Ertel and Furer constructed the set, but it was designed principally by Chinyere Brown '17.