Wiz kid

Angela Williams shines in URI's awesome Oz

by Bill Rodriguez

THE WIZ. Music and lyrics by Charlie Small, book by William F. Brown. Directed by Paula McGlasson. With Angela Williams, Gabe Green, Jason Harrington, Andrew Lidestri, and Melissa D'Amico. At URI Theatre through December 12.

Move over, Diana Ross. What the heck -- hush up a minute, Judy Garland. Angela Williams's dynamite voice and captivating presence make for a Dorothy who would knock out audiences on Broadway, never mind URI Theatre. There she is powering a production of The Wiz that just won't stop.

Don't be put off by the prospect if you saw the wretched movie, where Ross played Dorothy as a Harlem schoolteacher. This sticks to the 1975 Broadway version, in which an all-black cast pumped Motown energy into the L. Frank Baum kids' fantasy. A mixed cast is assembled here and does quite well in capturing the spirit, under the direction of longtime URI Theatre choreographer Paula McGlasson.

The story sticks closer to the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book than did the movie, to the point of having all the Oz-anians wear green-colored glasses to maintain their mellow view, as the Wizard instructs. We get the familiar trio, as well. Gabe Green does a good floppy act as Scarecrow, Jason Harrington is an amiable Tinman, and Andrew Lidestri is an especially loveable lion. (His complaint that his mother used to instruct, "Lick behind your ears, child, or you don't get any dessert" brought a loud giggle from one cub in the audience.) And when the quartet are Dorothy-stepping the yellow bricks to the tune of that rousing and recurring "Ease On Down the Road," all's right in the world.

The musical doesn't drop the opportunity to make the Wicked Witch of the West, Evillene, a fascinating, scene-sucking tornado of a villainess. (Grace Jones filled those shoes in a national tour last year.) Heidi C. Hewitt doesn't waste the opportunity, dervishing up a storm and intimidating flying monkeys in her "No Bad News" number. And we learn that when she's "liquidated," as a character puts it, "Ding-Dong the Witch Is Dead" isn't the only possible joyful response -- Luther Vandross's "Everybody Rejoice" really rocks.

Here the Wiz is a former preacher rather than the huckster of the movie, all the better to sway the populace. I don't know how the African-Americans in my audience felt about whites in the two roles that stoke up the black vernacular, but I was swept up. It is incongruous for the Wiz (Melissa D'Amico) to be a woman and doubly so for her to be white, as she whirls around the stage prompting amens in the big finale. In that scene, D'Amico not only magically holds the stage, she belts out the song "Believe In Yourself" with revival fervor and wonderful voice. Similarly delivering lines full of black slang and style, Kerry Carney delights as the good witch Addaperle. And in a production with several terrific voices among the shaky ones, there was enough talent around to use Heidi E. Beckman in the incidental role of Glinda, the other good witch, and sweetly dazzle us with a couple of songs before Dorothy's concluding "Home."

The niftiest part of Cheryl de Wardener's scenic design may be the Kansas farm house rather than the colorful stuff. The weathered homestead is twirled about and taken apart by eight tornado dancers, under choreography by Barbara Jean Medeiros. Costume design by David T. Howard is enjoyable, especially such touches as the vinyl-clad four-person yellow brick "road." There is a live orchestra, but unfortunately their efforts are spoiled by recurring sour brass notes.

But the heart and soul of The Wiz is Angela Williams as Dorothy. She can get more aching phrasing into a syllable than many singers can get out of a whole song. And that voice is -- forgive me -- angelic, full of spirit as well as sass. She'll have a CD of Christmas songs out in a year, which I for one am looking forward to.

Bring your own little Munchkins. There's a high time in store for all of you.