The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True

This was a great concert representation of the beloved classic. There is always discussion of who could have or should have been cast but overall was a joy. Even 27 years later it is nostalgic and worth the watch annually. I especially enjoy the behind the scene clips from rehearsals. When showing it to my 13 year old daughter, who knew only a limited number of the starts, enjoyed it and came up with her own cast from current stars. I consider myself fortune to have seen this when it aired originally in 1995 and even more so to have a copy. This a tradition on Thanksgiving Eve every year and will continue to be.

A well done idea. A live performance of a modern classic in a concert setting. A fine cast reinterprets the old songs and characters and adds a few new ones at the same time. Casting a choir boy as Toto is classic.

I saw this special the first time it was broadcast on TNT on Thanksgiving weekend. I was elated to see it because I absolutely loved everything Oz. I had just finished reading the book, and I had just seen the movie for about the millionth time. I was kind of disappointed that there weren't any "big" stars there, though. I had only heard of Natalie Cole, Boys Choir of Harlem, and Nathan Lane (as the voice of Timon in "The Lion King"). I later found out about where the other performers were coming from (Roger Daltrey from the Who, Joel Grey from Broadway, etc.). I was absolutely mesmorized from the start, and I even kept the channel on during commercial breaks, which I don't usually do. My favorite was, of course, Nathan Lane as the Cowardly Lion ("If I were king of the forest/Not queen, not duke, not prince [or the Artist Formerly Known as Prince]"). Anyway, for many Oz-philes, this should prove to be an enjoyable experience, if you don't mind seeing bits and pieces removed or added and the songs done in different styles. I was especially glad that they put in the legendary "Jitterbug" song and sang the extra lyrics to the songs featured in the movie.

Now keep in mind, it is a concert, not a play or movie, so the performers aren't really acting so much as saying lines and using representative rather than literal costumes and sets to hold the songs together. If you see it as that, you can allow the music to take you "over the rainbow" almost as well as the movie itself.

I first saw this concert version of the Wizard of Oz when it first was airing and was positively thrilled. Every performance was spot on - Joel Grey did the part of the Wizard proud; Roger Daltrey gave the Tin Man a Who-like showing on "If I Only Had a Heart"; Jewel's rendition of "The Jitterbug" was fantastic!; Natalie Cole's Gospel-style singing of "You're Out of the Woods" shows off the pipes of this talented singer; Nathan Lane's Cowardly Lion positively channeled Bert Lahr; Debra Winger as the Wicked Witch was a hoot with her standard above-standard performance; Jackson Browne's Scarecrow singing "If I Only Had a Brain" was marvelous; The Harlem Boys Choir made a wonderful set of munchkins; And the guest artists all made the concert a special event.

Darrell Larson did an extremely creditable job of direction on the entire production and is to be commended. I've owned a copy of this for several years now and watch it regularly. The only thing that would top having this on tape and CD would be if they released it on DVD as well.

First off, I am absolutely not a fan of "concert" versions of musicals. Take the time, spend the money, and do it right. When you have the talent that this production assembled, it seems a sin to do a half-baked version of the classic musical.

The only way I can recommend this production is to tell everyone reading this: close your eyes. That's right, just close your eyes and imagine how great it would have been if the visuals came close to matching what you hear. This story just can't be done properly in "concert". It cries out for full staging.

The performers are quite accomplished (with one exception), and it is always a treat to hear the Jitterbug number (cut from the 1939 film) and those extra bits of dialogue and lyrics that never made it into the earlier version.

However...

For me, this version was made almost unwatchable by Jewel. Just about every song she sang was butchered and horribly mangled by her vocal "style". I've never heard those classic songs destroyed the way she destroyed them. It was jaw-dropping and excruciating to watch and hear. Someone should have stepped in (maybe the director?), forced her to look at the original score, and made her sing the songs as they were written. Awful. Just plain awful.

So, close your eyes, enjoy the moments you can, and - above all - Beware of Jewel.