The Wizard Twists into Todos Santos!

The Wizard Twists into Todos Santos!

by Vickie M. Butler

In the original 1939 movie version of The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, the main characters plead with the Wizard to give them a brain, a heart, courage and a home.  During the first three weekends of February, audiences for The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist will not only view those attributes as staged by the actors, but also will experience the real life use of them! Because of the courage, heart and brains of well-known director Isabel Smyth and contractor/musician Raul Cavazos, the community of Todos Santos is now home to the newly constructed Luna Azul stage. Located in an exquisite tropical setting, the multi-leveled stage is surrounded by beautifully bricked arches.  One can easily imagine all of the future theatrical and musical productions taking place as Director Smyth enthuses, “We’re so excited about building our own stage in Todos Santos. From now on, Blue Moon Productions will have this incredible venue to facilitate the performing arts in our community. The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist will be perfect for our first production on the permanent stage.”

Comprised of a 35+ member cast and crew, The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist will be a lively, colorful musical spoof based on the familiar movie story line---with one major exception:  Dorothy is a fifty-nine year old recent transplant to Todos Santos who visits the craziness of Munchkinland, Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz because of a hurricane rather than a tornado! Talented veteran actress Roxanne Rosenblatt’s Dorothy promises to be a more relevant, cynical Dorothy whose encounters with the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and Witches are truly of out of this world!

Serendiptity Bed and Breakfast owner, Sharon Morris, relishes her role as the Cowardly Lion. “I look like Bert Lahr, the original movie Lion, and I really enjoy playing parts that can be exaggerated and are larger than life.  Learning the Lion’s expressions and songs is fun as well as a challenge for me.” (Local audiences may recall Morris as Mother Superior in Nunsense four years ago).  Joining her on the Oz adventure is Vic Kirby, an Oxford graduate, corporate consultant, author and photographer, who has been cast in the role of the creaky Tin Man, a man built without a heart.  “I’m a little rusty at the moment, but my lines with be polished by the time we get there!”

In addition to a fine acting ensemble, director and visionary Smyth has attracted a multitude of other talents.  Multi-media artist Roxanne Sparks, head of Costuming and Prop Design for The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist, is making use of a broad and varied skill-base. Presently, her Todos Santos studio is filling up with creations that include a life-size mango tree and paper mache masks, ears, and tails amid an array of other imaginative costumes. “In my previous life, I worked as a graphic artist for several years.  I also created whimsical miniature houses and scenes that I called gnome houses under the name Gnome Sweet Home!  These were mixed media of paper mache, wood, bark and other natural and man made materials.  The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist is a fun way to put some of my interests to work!”

Because of its ocean setting, moderate climate and growing reputation as an artists’ colony, Todos Santos continues to attract a foreign population that brings a vast reservoir of experiences and interests. When combined with the welcoming, talented local Mexican community, Isabel Smyth’s vision of an on-going Todos Santos performing arts cadre is on its way to becoming a reality. Plan to see this mixture of brains, heart, courage and home at Luna Azul during the production of The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist, 7:30 pm, on February 4, 5, 11, 12 and 18! Tickets can be purchased at Tecolote Bookstore, La Bodega de Todos Santos or Luna Azul. Please contact bluemooninbaja@yahoo.com for more information.