MESNER PUPPET THEATRE: THE WIZARD OF OZ

(review)

by Nick Campbell

Originally published in The Baum Bugle, vol. 62, no. 2 (Autumn 2018), pgs. 33–34

Citations

Chicago 17th ed.:

Campbell, Nick. “Mesner Puppet Theatre: The Wizard of Oz.” Baum Bugle 62, no. 2 (2018): 33–34.

MLA 9th ed.:

Campbell, Nick. “Mesner Puppet Theatre: The Wizard of Oz.” The Baum Bugle, vol. 62, no. 2, 2018, pp. 33–34.

Mesner Puppet Theatre: The Wizard of Oz

Aug. 2–4, 2018

“Oz Comes to Kansas,” National Agriculture Center and Hall of Fame, Bonner Springs, KS.

I was delighted to get a chance to see this all-puppet adaptation, originally produced in 2017, when it was restaged this summer. (Readers of the Spring Bugle will recall an account of the original production’s intensive creative process.) I was intrigued by the boldness of a deliberately non-MGM vision of Oz designed specifically to inspire young audiences. How faithful could it be and still entertain modern kids?

The auditorium bustled with young children and their parents. After a brief introduction from artistic director Mike Horner, and an equally brief establishing scene in Kansas, the action switched to Munchkinland and the show proceeded with terrific
energy and good humor.

In a modestly sized theater, the doll-like puppets were manipulated with the three puppeteers in full view, immediately calling on the audience’s imagination. Music was limited to the odd interlude or moment of emphasis, while scenery was effective but minimal: flat standees of Dorothy’s house, a couple trees, an emerald green gate, and the Witch’s castle.

Nonetheless, it was impossible to keep from being drawn into Dorothy’s story, such was the vocal skill and stagecraft of the performers. It was a reminder that grand sets and familiar dialogue are not always required to tell a story as clever and bighearted
as Baum’s.

The adaptation went back often to features of the original text, such as silver shoes, a helpful field-mouse Queen and a decidedly Denslow-esque Wicked Witch; sadly, there were not enough free hands for Toto to be included. The style, though, was decidedly contemporary: instead of a kiss, we are told that nobody dares harm a person who has been “booped on the nose” by the Witch of the North. This set the comic tone for the rest of the show, although never to its detriment.

A clever innovation was the recurring double-act of the Wicked Witch and her solitary Winged Monkey companion. He’s waited for ages for her to use the Golden Cap and ask for his help, if only with getting the housework done. When she finally puts him to work, he positively throws himself into her repeated commands to delay the travelers, effortfully pulling apart the stage to create a chasm or sprinkling a shower of fast-acting poppy seeds. When the Witch is disposed of—with an uproariously over-extended series of deathly screams—he generously offers Dorothy the golden cap: all in all, an elegant and audience-pleasing story rewrite.

A similarly brilliant idea was the presentation of the Wizard’s giant head as his hot-air balloon, painted with an angry face. Perhaps it’s only the fact that such a visual pun finds its ideal conditions in a puppet show, where stagecraft continually shapes and directs the audience’s reading of each scene, that explains why such a stroke of genius has never, to my knowledge, struck before. The apotheosis of this witty device comes when Dorothy literally deflates it: what a metaphor.

The cleverness and warmth of the Mesner adaptation demonstrate that Baum’s Oz can still be rendered fresh to amuse and inspire young minds. After the happy ending, Club members in the audience petitioned Horner to produce a follow-up in 2019. With vague imaginings of how inventively the team might render Jack Pumpkinhead, the Gump, or Tip’s transformation, I am fully prepared to join this petition: in fact, I’ll gladly sell tickets! Until such a sequel arrives, however, I recommend this production to
Club members, whenever you may get the chance to see it. Put on your imaginary green spectacles—we were advised they were under our seats, and I like to think I’ve kept mine—and watch this fresh, fun take on Oz unfurl.

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