Moody Amphitheater
Pretty Weak Review
RECEIVED Mon., July 31, 2017
Dear Editor,
Ms. Cobbe’s review of Zilker Theatre Productions’ The Wizard of Oz titled "No Place Like It" [Arts Listings, July 28] is, let’s face it, pretty weak. For the record, Miss Gulch/the Wicked Witch takes issue with dogs because Toto chased her cat and bit her on the leg. The Wicked Witch cannot remove the ruby red slippers because Glinda has placed a spell on them. The magic slippers can only be removed from Dorothy’s dead body, which is a crucial (and rather obvious) element to the narrative that, I’m not surprised, Ms. Cobbe’s housemates couldn’t be bothered to explain.
The Wizard of Oz is not a story of "simple, innocent imagination." Simple innocence imagines a just world where characters are either good or evil. The Land of Oz is anything but. Dorothy learns that not all witches are bad. Predatory lions can be your friend. And even lying, cheating hucksters, like the Wizard, are capable of helping others. The Wizard of Oz is a story about the loss of innocence, which is why its popularity persists.
My only quibble with Zilker Theatre’s entertaining production was the portrayal of the Witch. She wasn’t scary. She looked great and the actor’s laugh was spot on, but her inflections were a bit too tongue-in-cheek, like she was trying to be funny. The Wicked Witch of the West is one of our culture’s most iconic villains, and she’s very, very scary.
Ms. Cobbe’s review of Zilker Theatre Productions’ The Wizard of Oz titled "No Place Like It" [Arts Listings, July 28] is, let’s face it, pretty weak. For the record, Miss Gulch/the Wicked Witch takes issue with dogs because Toto chased her cat and bit her on the leg. The Wicked Witch cannot remove the ruby red slippers because Glinda has placed a spell on them. The magic slippers can only be removed from Dorothy’s dead body, which is a crucial (and rather obvious) element to the narrative that, I’m not surprised, Ms. Cobbe’s housemates couldn’t be bothered to explain.
The Wizard of Oz is not a story of "simple, innocent imagination." Simple innocence imagines a just world where characters are either good or evil. The Land of Oz is anything but. Dorothy learns that not all witches are bad. Predatory lions can be your friend. And even lying, cheating hucksters, like the Wizard, are capable of helping others. The Wizard of Oz is a story about the loss of innocence, which is why its popularity persists.
My only quibble with Zilker Theatre’s entertaining production was the portrayal of the Witch. She wasn’t scary. She looked great and the actor’s laugh was spot on, but her inflections were a bit too tongue-in-cheek, like she was trying to be funny. The Wicked Witch of the West is one of our culture’s most iconic villains, and she’s very, very scary.
Darrell Hutchinson
