During our Intro to Theatre class, I watched the NBC production of The Wiz which was a live broadcasted musical from the story book adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. For a four-day period, we discovered the adventures of our teenage protagonist named Dorothy, who was whisked into the magical world of Oz. Along with a Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, Dorothy and the gang go through Oz to seek the magical Wiz to get Dorothy back home to her farm in Kansas. On her journey, she learns the true meaning of love, courage, and what home really means to her. As an overall musical, The Wiz brought a compelling note recreating a classic story and twisting it into a musical with a unique cast, delightful costumes, and melodious songs. For me, the musical was …show more content…
The costumes were easily identifiable and suitable for the characters. From the background characters to the main crew, you knew who they were playing and how their gestures and movements incorporated with their costumes. As of the tech on stage, the lighting, scenic design, and sound effects fitted the scenes well as the musical progressed. Instead of switching an empty stage to suit where the characters were, the screen switched to a colorful background to show where characters are, and the back screen was one of my favorite parts of the musical for how detailed yet simple it was to show a character's location. Whenever lighting was directed towards one person to show them singing or no lights at all to show a dramatic scene, the sounds also synced up along with the lights, which emphasized the mood and really drove me, as a viewer, into believing into these scenes. Overall, the technological enhancements made the musical lively. They were able to set the mood differently between acts, like when Dorothy got cast away into Oz or when she and the gang were stuck in the forest. All these small elements made every single scene more enjoyable, and I actually preferred the look of the musical more than the actual story and music
Burns was a interesting and creative production that was thrilling to go see The three main parts of this production involved lighting, costumes, and sets and props. The way she produced the play was marvelous. The lighting was great because it really gave the audience a better understanding of the scene. I thought the lighting was cue for every act in this production. The costumes in this play were, also key because it showed the different time periods throughout the play. Act one through three was almost a century apart so it was very important that the costumes symbolized that. Sounds and music was my favorite part of this production because it really helped the audience identify things that they wouldn’t have identified if those sounds used weren’t used. I thought that was the most effective tool the cast members used to produce this play. Overall, Mr. Burns was a very effective production because the use of lighting, costumes, and
The art in social justice movement is further educate individuals while entertaining them, one example is the 1978s classic The Wiz. The Wiz was created during the Black Arts Movement to illustrated historical and political issues in the African American community. If one watches The Wiz closely one can see the how the Scarecrow character is used to demonstrate how African American mental mislead. The Scarecrow was told over and over by the Crows he was not smart enough to get down off of “dis here pole”. The Scarecrow believed the Crows and felt he was dumb and not good enough. However, the Scarecrow was very smart, but due to years of being mental beat down he could see it. This has happened so many times in African American history. African Americans have been told they were not smart or good enough since captured and brought to America. This constant mental abuse has left a lasting scar on African Americans, but The Wiz tried to show African Americans had more knowledge than what they give themselves credit for.
For my second cultural report I decided to go see a musical called “Wicked” in New York City with my girlfriend. I made this choice because I haven’t seen the famous Broadway Musical before but I was told by my girlfriend that it is a really good musical to do my report on. The musical was seen in New York City, New York on Broadway (March 31, 2017) at 8pm in Gershwin Theatre. Wicked is the musical story of The Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West and Glenda the Good before Dorothy came. Wicked spotlights the untold stories of The Wizard of Oz’s most infamous characters, the Wicked Witch of the West and her unlikely friend, Glinda the Good. The show follows green-skinned star Elphaba from birth to college and through the events which eventually
One of its numerous strengths was the costuming and set. This musical would not have been the same had these elements not come together to transport the viewer. In addition to the costuming and the set, the actors were very well cast. Each actor was in a role that fit them and they portrayed their characters very well. For example, the man who played Glen really seemed like a greedy Wall Street worker. The choreography was also well done. It fit true to the style of dance in the 1980s and added to the immersion experience. The only thing that could have made this experience better would be to add more music. This may just be a personal preference, but when I see a musical I like for the music to be central like it is in Hamilton or Les Miserables. However, this musical was very good and not much could be added to enhance the
The final element that I thought was very important to the play was the theme. The theme was the main thing that the musical was about and basically the whole reason for several actors, directors, producers, prop designers, etc. to spend so much time and effort to put on the play. One major theme in the musical was the theme of acceptance. Ogres aren’t typical characters in fairy tales that are accepted very much. The story of Shrek and Fiona teach people that it’s okay to be different and to be yourself which i think is a very important lesson.
On March 31 I had the pleasure of seeing Hello Dolly at Mandeville High School. As a talented theater student at the school, I take the shows that are put on very seriously. Being involved in the show, helping make set pieces, and working box office brings light to me as an individual, every little helping hand counts. I want to make sure that my school represents theater in the best way possible. With this production put on, I am proud to say that I am a theater student in Mandeville High.
The costumes which are used for this particular production are also essential in dramatizing the on-stage action.
The first thing I noticed about the set design was in the beginning of act one was there was a white house with blue strips on the right side of the stage. The next thing I noticed was after the tornado dance there was a colorful backdrop and there was the letter “Z” in the middle of the board. The “Z” was a bright yellow with circle around it. The circle was yellow as well. The backdrop was suppose to represent munchkin which is where Dorothy landed after the tornado dance. During the tornado dance the color of the lights changed to a blueish green color. Throughout the play there was lot of changing of the setting to make the setting go with what was going on during the play.
The production had many elements which for the most part formed a coalition to further the plot. The characters, the three part scenery and costumes represented well the period of time these people were going through. As far as the performers entering and exiting the stage, it could have been more organized. There were a few times when the performers exited at the wrong times or it seemed so due to the echo of the music. At certain moments the music was slightly loud and drowned the performers. Many of the songs dragged on, so the pacing could have been more effectively executed. Though the music was off at times, the director's decision to have most of the songs performed center sage was a wise one. Also the implementation of actual white characters that were competent in their roles came as a great surprise to the audience and heightened the realism.
As in all genres, the musicals have had its share of failures. Some worthy dramas have been pressed into service and musicalized and sometimes butchered in the process, and audiences have had to watch a fine play diluted into a mediocre musical. But the successes have been many and spectacular and they have left a long lasting effect on the American art and culture.
Every face had excellent expressions, presenting their characters perfectly. Also, each actor added their own twist on the characters, anywhere from a slight accent to body language, adding more depth to the entire musical. Furthermore, every actor changed their voice in a way that depicted their character’s emotions and attitude at that particular moment. Also, the color of the lights changes according to each scene and the mood for that particular scene.
It seemed like it was a long time ago and they were using accurate costumes. Pam Fowler was the costume coordinator she did a great job choosing the costumes. Everything looked great and the costumes were really good. Some people changed twice and other people stayed on with the same costumes. I've seen other plays and they aren't wearing appropriate shoes according to their play but in the Gondoliers their wearing accurate shoes.
The stage specifically looked wonderful, and it particularly had an older style to it in a subtle way. The actors mostly were able to look and definitely feel like they specifically were from the 50’s era. I really think they were able to get the accent of the role they were playing in a particularly big way. I literally believe that in some points in the play, I couldn’t generally hear the actors which made it a for all intents and purposes little harder to particularly understand what kind of was happening a for all intents and purposes few times during the play, which is fairly significant. The stage designers, and the actors of the play did an excellent job with this definitely play in a definitely big
There wasn’t any particular scene on stage that made me doubt the integrative work of the director since all the staging work such as lighting, design, costumes and performance were well coordinated and blended for a very good production. The lights were well positioned with well fitted costumes and a very ideal scene to match. There wasn’t much change of scenes in the play except for some movement of tables and chairs. There was an entrance and exit for the performers which made their movements uninterrupted. There was a loud sound of a bell when school was over while the lights were dimmed whenever there was a change of scene. The pace of the production was very smooth since one scene followed the other without delay and most likely because most of the performers wore the same costume; especially all eight students wore the same costume for the entire