Judy Garland famously sang, “We’re off to see the Wizard.” But rather than seeing him, the audience for a new production of the Oz story will need to rely on their sense of hearing.
The Theatre Department at the University of Southern Maine has adapted “The Wizard of Oz” for radio. The airdate is October 26 at 7 p.m. on campus radio station WMPG, which broadcasts at 90.9 FM and also streams online.
“If you’re looking for a break from reality, this would be the show for you,” said Hailey Gagnon. “It’s a radio show, so you get to imagine it rather than see it. The show’s all about imagination, so I think that’s pretty special.”
Gagnon plays the lead role of Dorothy, a farm girl from Kansas who wants nothing more than to go home after a tornado carries her off to the magical land of Oz. She seeks out a wizard for help. Along the way, she fights a witch and collects a group of oddball friends.
Fans of the 1939 movie adaptation starring Judy Garland may be in for a surprise. This version is based on the book, written by L. Frank Baum in 1900. While the broad strokes of the story remain the same, several of the finer details are different.
The ruby slippers worn by Garland were originally written as silver. And the Emerald City of the book isn’t really emerald. It only appears that way because everyone wears glasses with green lenses. Garland was a teenager when she played Dorothy, but Gagnon sticks to Baum’s text by playing her closer to 10 years old.
Gagnon is an English major in her sophomore year of college. In order to sound younger, she raises her voice to a higher register and delivers her lines with sense of wide-eyed wonder.
“It feels a lot more like my own take on the character,” Gagnon said. “It’s not just rehashing of what we’ve already seen. It’s a new take. It’s new life into the character, which I think is needed.”
The actor playing the Wizard also performed some verbal gymnastics. Mike Lawrence is a junior in the Theatre program. His challenge was to distinguish between the character’s two personas. He’s first introduced as a figure of godlike power, but later stands revealed as a small-time conman.
“For the Wizard, it’s very much a diaphragm kind of, chesty voice that’s meant to rumble and almost roll on the inside of a room,” Lawrence said. “Whereas transforming into regular Oz, it’s lifting that air from my diaphragm into my throat or head area, and then losing whatever menacing touch you put to your voice.”
Even Lawrence’s posture changes when speaking his lines. He achieves his Wizard voice by standing straighter and squaring his shoulders. Not only does the stance affect his vocal mechanics, it seems to trigger an emotional shift. His director, Joshua Hsu, calls it “sumo position.”
Hsu’s voice coaching goes beyond just volume control. He didn’t want his actors to mimic Garland and her costars. Certain famous lines and all the music were exclusive to the movie and therefore off limits. Rado listeners won’t hear the Wicked Witch snarl, “I’ll get you my pretty!” And the Scarecrow doesn’t sing, “If I only had a brain!”
Instead, Hsu worked with his actors to make their accents specific and accurate to certain regions of the United States. He wanted their voices to illustrate the story’s cultural impact across the entire country. The message is personal for him, having grown up loving the movie.
“I think the story is about discovering the power that was within yourself all along,” Hsu said. “That’s a common theme that’s within the book, but we don’t just discover it on our own. We need others to do so. Finding that power to unite and realize your potential, I think that’s quintessential to the American dream.”
Once the roles were assigned early in the fall semester, the cast spent the next few weeks in rehearsals. The recording process began on September 30 and lasted several days using the professional-grade equipment at the campus sound studio in Gorham.
The cast will reunite for the broadcast at a listening party on October 26. They’ll gather on the lower level of Brooks Student Center in Gorham. The party starts at 7 p.m., and it’s open to the public. Guests are encouraged to dress as their favorite Oz characters for a costume contest. Refreshments will also be available. Admission is free with online registration.