Finally, the day arrived and I was all set with my snack and a nice beverage. I had fried won tons and a code Red Soda. hahahaha So I was a little surprised at how it started out. Ne-Yo and Elijah Kelley repairing a fence on the plains like common field hands. Then Dorothy, portrayed by Shanice Williams and Toto. And next was the GREAT Stephanie Mills portraying Auntie M. For 58 yrs old, Stephanie looked amazing. She sounded really good too. I have seen her twice in concert and every time I see her, she always gives you a good show. Do you remember the Circle Star Theater in San Mateo California? That's where I saw Stephanie the last time. She had Christopher Williams opening for her, with his flat ass. He had on some tight ass overalls made of velvet I think and as the stage turned around and you caught a side view of him. He had NO ASS AT ALL. hahahaha Or a carpenters dream, flat as a board. hahahaha (HAH! Those were definitely reads!!! hahahaha) Sorry, but let me get back on point.
So, Auntie M warns Dorothy about a storm coming and how she better get back into the house. But Dorothy is determined to go back home to her parents. But Auntie M tells her, they are gone killed in a car crash. Come on now, a 16 yr old should be able to understand life and death versus, someone walking away or leaving. So this is completely different from the movie with Diana Ross. There are some other differences, but I am not mad at them. Some stuff, you can't recreate on the stage. I liked most of the sets and I LOVED the costumes. I think who ever designed the costumes deserves a Tony. My favorite costume of all was the Lion. David Alan Greer looked so real!!! And I loved the six pack and pecks sewn into the vest to make him look buff.
Now, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and tell me if you agree or not. I loved Mary J Blige's costume. He Wicked Witch of the West was so on point, I can't stand it. Mary was having a ball too. She was mean and wicked!!! But her costume reminded me of a giant vagina! She had on these textured leggings and some black knee high boots. Then she had a giant over skirt which was lined in several colors from light pink to deep red in an ombrey effect from light on top to dark on the bottom. And when Mary would stand still with her legs slightly apart, it looked like a giant upside down vagina. hahahaha
Glenda the Good Witch was portrayed by the chick from Orange is the New Black Uzo Aduba, sang the hell out of her song too. And her dress was so beautiful, I was just like WOW!!! I love that dress. hahaha
So overall, the acting and the singing on this production were TOP NOTCH!!! Some of the slang used I thought was inappropriate. We can blame Harvey Fierstein for that. hahahaha Sigh. But the thing that bothered me the most was Dorothy went on her little journey alone. That's not right. In the movie and the original play, Dorothy always had little Toto with her. So we only get to see Toto in the very beginning and then at the very end when Dorothy returns to the farm in Kansas and meets up with Auntie M again.
So, I have to take my hat off to NBC, they pulled this off really well. I will give them 4 out of 5 stars on this production. And if I win the lotto, I will definitely go to New York and see it live on Broadway stage next year. Yeah!!!
 |
| Elijah Kelley as the Scarecrow, Ne-Yo as the Tin Man, Shaunice Williams as Dorothy and David Alan Green as the Lion. |
No comments:
Post a Comment