Theatre Cedar Rapids is off to see the Wizard

CEDAR RAPIDS — Lots of the young people in the cast are getting to discover the wonders of “The Wizard of Oz.” They didn’t grow up watching it on television.

And that’s OK with Angie Toomsen, who is directing the show onstage from Nov. 17 to Dec. 17 at Theatre Cedar Rapids.

“It really just allows myself and my team and our actors to let our imaginations run wild and to remember that this is a fantasy world,” she said.

“It was a world that was created long before the MGM movie. And since the birth of the Oz universe, the aesthetic interpretations have changed over time, and we are still on that same trajectory.”

Some of the biggest twists come with the witches, good and wicked.

“We’ve really created these empowered, feminine forces. They’re like superheroes,” Toomsen said. “They are the greatest departure from the MGM movie. We have completely created a new aesthetic for them, new rules. They have grand wands instead of broomsticks, and they each have a ‘familiar,’ an animal. We have a lot of fun with that.

“And that extends into the character of Oz and the character Professor Marvel, as well. We had a lot of fun creating the rules and technology of their magic world.

“It’s not so black-and-white, either. Glinda is not the beloved cupcake princess that so many of us as little girls fawned over in the movie. She is a powerhouse,” Toomsen said.

If you go

What: “The Wizard of Oz”

Where: Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids

When: Nov. 17 to Dec. 17, 2023; 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 9 matinee

Tickets: $18 to $52; TCR Box Office, (319) 366-8591 or theatrecr.org/event/the-wizard-of-oz/2023-11-18/

Movie purists still will experience plenty of familiar sights and songs that honor the nostalgia, but Toomsen and company have conjured up what she hopes will be “very exciting and imaginative interpretations of this world.”

For example, she said costume designer Jess Helberg has given a high-fashion “Hunger Games” Capitol City look to Oz, and costumes for the Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion hint at what they might have been in the real world, creating back stories beyond the realm of the Kansas farmhands. And even Helberg’s take on Dorothy’s blue gingham dress holds surprises as the action progresses, Toomsen said.

“I think the movie is so iconic and so ingrained into the collective consciousness, that it actually makes it extra fun to do fresh and new things, because so many people share a point of reference,” Toomsen said.

“So in addition to doing something novel with a character or setting, just for the sake of storytelling itself, it allows us to also to go together on the journey of Oz as a kind of living, breathing universe that can be interpreted completely different ways, depending on the team or the people working on it.”

Jessica Link, 45, of Cedar Rapids, who plays the Wicked Witch of the West, isn’t surprised that some cast members haven’t seen the movie that so many older viewers grew up watching every year.

She said she grew up with it “to a degree.” It was her aunt’s favorite movie, and they watched it one summer when Link, probably as a middle-schooler, flew solo to Florida to spend a week with her aunt.

“I always equate that with my time with her and feeling very grown up, you know, flying alone,” Link said. “And I think for many people, there’s kind of this childhood magic connected with this story.”

But times change, and now that she’s a mom, she’s not sure her own daughters, ages 11 and 15, have seen the iconic movie. Television viewing habits are different these days, she said, noting that she’s not even sure she’s seen it all the way through since that time in Florida.

“We don't watch TV like that anymore,” Link said, adding that she’s been more likely to run across the movie halfway through on a Sunday afternoon.

“To watch something like this, you have to sit down with purpose and find it. You don't just scroll across it channel flipping,” she said, “and so we have the opportunity to be very specific in our storytelling.”

With so many cast members new to the story, “you have this whole new generation who have the opportunity to learn this from a new space not an every-conceived-notion space,” Link said.

Dorothy Gale

One of those people new to the journey is Rhylee Larson, 16, of Marion, who plays Dorothy.

“I recently watched the movie for the first time when I got into the show, because I didn't want to copy and paste anything,” the Linn-Mar High School junior said. “What really just drew me to her was the fact that she's naive and she has a really fun spirit, and I just felt attracted to that. And then also her song — that's the biggest thing, because I grew up singing the song. I didn't know that it was from that movie ’til I was like 9 or 10.”

Larson sees Dorothy as being naive — something the actor has learned from reading four of the books in L. Frank Baum’s Oz series, and scouring high school productions on YouTube.

“I feel like my version of Dorothy is definitely pure, but I think she is stubborn,” Larson said. “And I also think that she loves very deeply and very hard, and she might not be the smartest at her age yet, but she still can love like an adult.”

Larson said she shares that stubborn streak, and she’s also “a negotiator” when thrift shopping, which translates to Dorothy trying to negotiate with Aunt Em when she gets into trouble in the first scene, set in Kansas.

But the young actor, who has appeared in TCR’s “Matilda,” “The Sound of Music,” “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “A Little Night Music,” isn’t as innocent as Dorothy.

“I feel like I have experienced a lot at 16 already,” she said, adding that “with Dorothy, her innocence kind of slows down or stops towards the end, because then she realizes that she was in the wrong and that she already had just what she wanted, but she didn't see it.”

Larson’s preparedness shines through.

“She is just an outstanding talent. It’s undeniable,” Toomsen said. “In addition to having incredible instincts on the stage, she works so hard. At every audition she comes into, she has fully researched the property itself, the role she's interested in, and then sometimes the historical context of the property itself.

“She blows me away with her desire, her passion and ambition, and her hard work in the room.”

Larson’s various stage roles also allow her to represent people of color, she said.

“I feel like people of color who audition for Dorothy are for ‘The Wiz’ productions. Most likely, people of color don’t go for or aren’t cast in classical musicals,” she said, “so I’m really honored to be able to portray Dorothy in the classical version of it.”

TCR has been looking beyond skin color for years, but recently has ramped that up because of the talent available that naturally leads to inclusivity.

“It’s important to me that, especially when we have a school matinee, that the children in that audience see themselves on the stage,” said Toomsen, who also serves as TCR’s artistic director. “And we’re finding in our theater community, that with our youth performers, that population is becoming more and more diverse.

“And so this is something we always strive to do, but it becomes especially important to me when I think about the kids in that audience and making sure that they see a range of people on that stage,” she said, “so there's a better chance of them identifying with someone up there and maybe seeing themselves doing something like this or doing something else that requires confidence and courage.”

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Miss Amira Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West

Courage is center stage for Link, too, who is stepping out of her comfort zone and into the iconic roles of Miss Amira Gulch and the Wicked Witch.

Courage, because Link generally performs dramatic roles in intimate theater venues, and because she said she’s not a singer. Luckily, in “The Wizard of Oz,” neither of her characters sings — they just make everyone else sing to their tune.

She was reluctant to even look at the role until Toomsen told her she’d be flying.

“Sold,” she exclaimed. “In what play do actors get to fly, especially if you have no singing or dancing talents like me?”

Audiences will see lots of flying in this production, from the Flying Monkeys to Dorothy. And Toto, too? Mum’s the word.

“So many times the shows I do are real people in real situations,” Link said, “and this is a heightened world, where you can be a little bigger than life. It’s kind of a fantastic opportunity.”

Toomsen is thrilled to have her onboard.

“Some of our straight-play actors don't always get the opportunity to do some of these highly theatrical things that we do in musicals,” Toomsen said.

“To have the great Jessica Link playing such an iconic role, I think it was unexpected for her, and it's a treat for all of us. She's just coming in at a level that acting-wise, a lot of times we don't get to see or have time for in the in the musical world, unfortunately.”

Link appreciates this new vision of the Wicked Witch as an empowered character, not as a cackling shrew.

“They're not making her ugly, they’re making her outlandish. They are making her larger than life with this high fashion (look). … I almost get this image of Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil. It’s so high fashion it’s almost not pretty anymore,” Link said.

She’s looking forward to making new discoveries once the curtain rises, too.

“I usually do small theater where you have 120 people and you can hear a gasp in a tiny space like that. I’m really curious to hear and feel all of that energy of several hundred people out there who are going on this journey with you,” she said.

Until then, she’s enjoying her own Ozian moments in rehearsals.

“TCR has incredible, incredible production values,” she said. “And to see that come to life is going to be really quite amazing. I'm not usually part of that engine. I get to see the engine at work — to kind of peek behind the curtain and see all the work that goes into bringing something of this scale to life. …

“It’s just wonderful,” she said, “and the fact that it’s a family holiday show, it will be very special for people. To be part of a very special memory for people is really … magical.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com