Months ago the high school theater department announced that the spring musical was going to be The Wiz. My first thought was, “Uh oh. Somebody’s got to be Michael Jackson.” Nobody in State High’s Thespian troupe has the Michael Jackson gene.
We netflixed (that’s a verb now, isn’t it?) The Wiz just to see what we were in for. Yep. It’s a retelling of the classic L. Frank Baum story set in the context of an African-American culture, 1977 musical stylings and language, all interpreted by (mostly) upper middle class (mainly) white high school students…I have to tell you that I was a little puzzled as to how they were going to pull it off.
Let me assure you, they nailed it! Levi had a role (sort of the mayor of munchkinland, plus chorus duties) that fit him well, and Lilly was the Stage Manager–that’s a big deal for a freshman to be given that much responsibility. The big roles were played by seniors, and I don’t think they could have picked a better show to allow that group of seniors to shine.
State High always does a tremendous job with the musical theater, and this year was as good as I’ve ever seen from them. They set the bar high for next year’s cast and crew!
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