I saw Somewhere Over the Border, the first presentation on this year's schedule of the Mosaic Theater Co., at the end of its run at the Atlas Theatre complex. It was an adaptation of the plot of The Wizard of Oz, only here it follows the progress of an unmarried mother from El Salvador trying to make it to the U.S. by various means of transport through Central America and Mexico.
Some of the parallels were clever: the coyote who ultimately gets her over the border appears as a light-up, giant figure reminiscent of the Wizard's reception hall where Frank Morgan's voice booms out his conditions for helping Dorothy and her pick-up pals: the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. Human renditions of each of these characters accompany Dorothy.
It's a musical, too, as was the 1939 movie, and while there's no "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (and no sharp E.Y. (Yip) Harburg lyrics, either), this show leaves you with a pleasant feeling of good entertainment rather than merely putting the aged but still serviceable plot to use with different settings, characters, and countries. The lead, Reina, played by Pepin, holds the show together with a mixture of song and personality. She and three of the named cast members are Equity players.
All in all, this production gave the 26-27 Mosaic season a good start. The Wizard remains sturdy enough to accommodate all the different aspects of this spinoff. And if the intent was to use the plot to give audiences contemporary situations that deserve their attention, so much the better.
No comments:
Post a Comment