{"id":12263,"date":"2015-10-11T15:01:08","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T20:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=12263"},"modified":"2017-07-25T13:15:21","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T18:15:21","slug":"the-wiz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2015\/10\/11\/the-wiz\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wiz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wiz<\/a>On October 9, the Sinclair theatre department will present the Broadway musical \u201cThe Wiz.\u201d Based on the book and screenplay by William F. Brown and composed by Charlie Smalls, the musical is the winner of seven Tony Awards, including best musical of 1975. The musical was made into a cult classic movie in 1978, \u00a0starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Ted Ross, an actor and singer from Dayton, Ohio, who not only played \u201cThe Cowardly Lion\u201d in the movie version, but also the Broadway version.<\/p>\n

Chris Harmon is the director of the production with musical direction by David McKibben and Choreography by Rodney Veal. \u201cThe Wiz\u201d will be showcasing not only students from Sinclair\u2019s theatre and dance department, but also from Stivers School for the Arts, community members and dancers from the South Dayton Dance Theatre.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may be the largest cast and crew we\u2019ve had on Blair Hall\u2019s stage,\u201d said Gina Neuerer, chair of music, theatre and dance at Sinclair. \u201cWe are thrilled with the collaborations we have created and are very excited to be bringing such a huge, family-friendly production to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only does the musical showcases dancers, singers and actors, but it will also \u00a0have a live dog to play Toto, thanks to the help of Sinclair\u2019s Vet Tech faculty.<\/p>\n

Harmon has worked previously with the theatre department on last year\u2019s production of \u2018Bare,\u2019 but he said \u2018The Wiz\u2019 is a bigger production.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love directing this show because it is such a spectacle,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cWorking with such a large cast from Sinclair\u2019s theatre department, Stivers and the South Dayton Dance Theatre is such a treat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmon said when he first heard the music, he was in high school in the 90s and it reminded him of disco music, but now he gets a very different feeling when listening to the score. Harmon said his goal is to take different musical stylings and fuse them together with the music of the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I listen to the same music, in preparation of directing the show, I found the same music very ahead of its time. Contemporary songs like Bruno Mars\u2019s \u2018Uptown Funk\u2019 reminds me of \u2018The Wiz,\u2019 so the show\u2019s music sounds fresh,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cI want to keep the show pretty traditional, but I want my take on the show to have music through the ages like rock, disco, pop and jazz.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story of \u2018The Wiz\u2019 carries an important emotional element behind the musical that everyone can relate to, according to Harmon. He said it\u2019s about finding out who you are and believing in yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a fan of \u2018the Wiz\u2019 and the story it originates from, \u2018The Wizard of Oz\u2019 because it is a story that most people can resonate with. The story has always been about wanting to belong or feeling like you are missing something only to realize what you lacked is something you have had all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmon said he\u2019s not sure what he wants the audience to feel when watching the musical, but he does hope they are entertained, and realize the great talent that is involved with making this show come to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope they are entertained by this colorful spectacle, full of great talent and great collaborators I was blessed to work with. \u00a0We have been working on the show since the summer and with all the hard work put in by everyone, I hope the audience is entertained by what they see and hear,\u201d Harmon said.<\/p>\n

Choreographer, Rodney Veal, said \u2018The Wiz\u2019 challenged him in his process of creating choreography for the show because of how great the original director and choreographer were.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wiz was a challenge for me to choreograph because of its connection to the original director and choreographer, Geoffrey Holder and the genius he was able to create,\u201d Veal said. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenge to take his choreography and make it for contemporary audiences, but I feel that I am up to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to Harmon, Veal said he grew up with the album when it was first released in 1975.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something that became a part of pop culture, so the music was everywhere even if no one had seen the play,\u201d Veal said. \u201cIt was an album that was in a lot of African American households at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veal said his favorite part of choreographing \u2018The Wiz\u2019 was creating the steps to the song, \u2018Everybody Rejoice.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just that feel good song that if you are in a bad mood, it\u2019s that song that will make you feel like everything will be ok. Late R&B singer, Luther Vandross, wrote it\u2014 he was able to give the song a \u2018Motown sound.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Veal said he likes to give his choreography originality by using his background in dance, as well as referring to current pop culture dance trends to bring the musical into the 21st century.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I was able to put my own spin on the choreography though there are no real intentions on what the choreography is supposed to be like,\u201d Veal said. \u201cA lot of it is based on the modern dance vernacular. I make references to some current dance trends and I do not think doing so detracts from the show. It\u2019s just putting the show into the now, so that when people see it, they can relate to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Veal, Geoffrey Holder\u2019s original choreography wasn\u2019t easy, but he was ready to give the cast members a challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is literally dancing in every scene\u2014I have had both cast members and dancers telling me how sore they are,\u201d Veal said.<\/p>\n

There are approximately 40 people in the show, which would even be considered large for a Broadway production, according to Veal. With its\u2019 mix of Sinclair and Stivers students, as well as community members, Veal said this is a huge show for Sinclair, and one of the largest shows he has choreographed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis show is no joke,\u201d Veal said. \u201cI began to plan the moment I received the news that Sinclair would be doing the show because with a show this big, you cannot just leave everything up to chance. I have been there since the beginning, in August, and I have seen so much improvement\u2014not only in dancing, but also in singing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veal said he feels like his choreography brings out the best in the cast and crew, but he hopes that it fuses well with Harmon\u2019s view of the production and does not detract from the storyline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want it to seamlessly fit Harmon\u2019s vision and carry the story from beginning to end. My job is not to do standout choreography, but choreography that helps everyone else\u2019s job go smoother,\u201d Veal said.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Wiz\u2019 debuts on October 9, and continues through October 17, The production will be performed in the Blair Hall Theatre in Building 2.<\/p>\n

For more information visit:
\nhttp:\/\/www.sinclair.edu\/arts\/theatre\/season\/index.cfm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gabrielle Sharp<\/strong>,
\nExecutive Editor<\/em>
\n&
\nJimaur Calhoun,<\/strong>
\nArts & Entertainment Editor<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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