Tom Anawalt, Lucas Alifano, Hannah Sedlacek and Eric Stanton Betts (Photo by Veronica Slavin)
Reviewed by Julia Stier
5-Star Theatricals
Through July 19
Cassandra Marie Murphy and Hannah Sedlacek (Photo by Veronica Slavin)
Follow the yellow brick road right on down to the Bank of America Performing Arts Center for 5-Star Theatrical’s production of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz – directed by Richard Israel, with musical direction by Anthony Lucca.
A surprisingly evergreen story, The Wizard of Oz follows Dorothy Gale as she is plucked from her life in Kansas and dropped into the technicolor world of Oz. With no way home, and with Oz’s public enemy #1, the Wicked Witch of the West, after her, Dorothy must make her way to the Emerald City, and plead her case before the land’s mysterious leader — the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Along the way, Dorothy befriends a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion, who join her on her journey, each with their own request of the Wizard.
It’s an interesting time to stage the show known as the “American Fairytale.” A renewed interest in the story — in part thanks to the movie adaptations of the story’s prequel, Wicked —has led to a collective re-recognition of the story’s political undertones. Watching the show through a 2026 lens, one can’t help but pick up on the sinister undercurrent Dorothy and her friends are swept up in.
However, these implications are never directly alluded to.
Instead, this is, in all ways, a fairly traditional staging. We start in the sepia-toned, endless cornfields of Kansas, where Dorothy (Hannah Sedlacek) has just returned to her aunt and uncle’s farm after another scuffle between her dog Toto (a real-life pup named Winnie), and the Gales’ disgruntled, wealthy neighbor, Miss Gulch (Becky Lythgoe). When a tornado rips through the farm, Dorothy and Toto find themselves sucked up into the cyclone, and deposited in the technicolor land of Oz — specifically, in a part called Munchkinland.
The first person she meets in this strange, new land is Glinda (Cassandra Marie Murphy) a good witch. But Dorothy’s crash landing in Oz is not without casualty: her house landed atop the Wicked Witch of the East… much to the delight of the Munchkins. However, this action summons the presence and wrath of the deceased’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the West (also played by Lythgoe).
The only way home for Dorothy is to appeal to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Noah Kaplan), who resides in the Emerald City. As she travels the Yellow Brick Road, Dorothy meets her three companions, each with their own desires of the Wizard: the Scarecrow (Eric Stanton Betts), who wishes for some brains, the Tin Man (Lucas Alifano), who wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion (Tom Anawalt), who would ask the Wizard for some courage.
Sedlacek as Dorothy steps into the ruby slippers with all the innocence the role requires – and any actress who can wrangle a live animal while singing without missing a beat is one worth her salt. Betts, Alifano, and Anawalt as the trio of Dorothy’s Oz companions are especially fun to watch. Betts as the Scarecrow is a prime example of physicality making the character. Alifano as the Tin Man endears as he croons over his want of a heart. Anawalt as the Cowardly Lion is a bundle of nerves and affection – making him a comedic delight.
Revisiting this old classic, I realized for the first time how little Glinda is actually onstage, which is a shame, because I would have liked to hear more from Murphy, who is clearly a powerhouse vocalist.
While this production delivers on all that you would expect from a staging of The Wizard of Oz, there is space to delve deeper into some of the show’s aforementioned undercurrents. But perhaps that is why the show works: there’s clearly something off about Oz and this so-called “Wonderful Wizard,” but the colorful veneer of this strange place distracts its denizens from looking deeper.
5-Star Theatricals, Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Kavli Theatre, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Thousand Oaks. Fri.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Sat.-Sun., 1 pm; thru July 19. www.5startheatricals.com.
