What would you do if you went out on the street to get your dog and all the sudden you were in a magical like land? The musical I am going to talk about is The Wiz. The three points I am going to talk about are the plot, compare/contrast to other musicals, and what I like and dislike about this musical.
The plot begins one day Dorothy and her family were having a dinner. Auntie Em told her something about needing to get a family of her own and a place of her own. Toto went out and Dorothy chased after him. A blizzard was coming and and a tornado like part of the blizzard swept her up and took her and Toto to Oz. The sign fell down and crushed the wicked witch of the east Evermean. Thus she sets free the munchkins, who have been turned into graffiti by Evermean for tagging the park walls, who populate the park in which she and Toto land. Miss One, the good witch of the north, gives Dorothy the powerful silver slippers of Evermean. Miss One urges Dorothy to find the Yellow Brick Road and follow it to the Emerald City and find the mysterious "Wizard" who she believes can get Dorothy back home. The good witch and the munchkins disappear, leaving Dorothy to find the Yellow Brick Road on her own. The next morning she meets the Scarecrow who she befriends and they travel the Yellow Brick Road together. The scarecrow hopes that the "Wizard" might give him the brain, he feels he lacks. The happen across the Tin Man and Lion who they befriend. The Tin Man hopes the "Wizard" can give him a heart and the Lion wants courage from the "Wizard". They come across the "Poppy" Girls who attempt to put Dorothy, Toto, and Lion to sleep. When they finally reach the Emerald City, the "Wizard" says he will only grant their wishes if they kill Evillene, the wicked witch of the west. Evillene sends the flying monkeys out to kill her. Evillene tortures the Lion, dismembers the scarecrow, and flattens the Tin Man in hopes of getting the silver shoes. Dorothy nearly gives in when the witch nearly throws Toto in a cauldron, but the Scarecrow points out the fire sprinkler switch which she flips and it nearly destroys Evillene. Everyone in the witch's sweatshop rejoices at that. The flying monkeys give Dorothy and her friends a ride back to the wizard. They realize the back door is open and head in that way. It it then realized that the wizard is a phony. Dorothy convinces her friends they had the things they were longing for all the time. Glenda, good witch of the south, tells her to look inside and use the silver slippers and she can get back home to Harlem.
The Wiz compares and contrasts with Wizard of Oz and Sound of Music. In all of these there is someone who is finding out something about themselves or basically finding out new things about themselves. The Wiz and Wizard of Oz both have a person who has been transported to Oz. In Sound of Music, Maria finds herself and this is similiar to Dorothy in The Wiz finding new things about herself. The differences in The Wiz and the Wizard of Oz are that The Wiz is more modern day and the Wizard of Oz is more or less in a longer ago time period. Also humans play all the roles in The Wiz and seems like actually animals play some of the roles in the Wizard of Oz. The differences in The Wiz and Sound of Music are that Maria doesn't get transported to a magical land and Dorothy does. Also, the time period in The Wiz is the seventies and the time period in Sound of Music is in the fourties.
What I like and disliked about this musical. I liked that Dorothy went to Oz and got to be a hero. I also liked that the train station scene where the trash cans and walls came alive. I like that Dorothy did not think she would be able to make it home and learned she had what it took all along. I disliked the fact that the Wiz was a phony. I also disliked the storm being a blizzard that took her to Oz.
In conclusion, I talked about the plot, compared and contrasted to other musicals, and told what i liked and disliked about The Whiz.
