The famed red ruby slippers are back in “The Wizard of Oz,” the latest stage production by famed composer and producer Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the classic film.
21-year-old Danielle Wade plays Dorothy Gale in the national tour. She auditioned on a whim for a Canadian reality competition, “Over the Rainbow,” which was casting Dorothy for the Toronto production, got a call back, made the TV show — and the rest is history.
She won the show in November 2012, started rehearsals a week later and moved to Toronto from LaSalle, Ontario. She described her move as both terrifying and wonderful. Rehearsals lasted five weeks, and she had the whole show memorized in a couple of days.
“I wanted to do a good job, especially because everybody around me is a professional and I wanted to be treated like a professional,” she said.
Wade starred in the Toronto production from December through August 2012, before being asked to reprise the role in the show’s North America tour.
She said that the most challenging aspect of the role of Dorothy is how iconic it is and how much pressure there is to uphold Judy Garland’s famous performance.
“The pressure is one of the best parts and one of the scariest parts about it. I think Dorothy was one of the first female characters that had some sort of power in a situation,” said Wade. “Those boys — her three friends — look up to her and they’re looking for her help and it’s really cool to see that change happen in the [1939] film, where all of a sudden she had some power and she was still a young girl.”
Wade loves singing “Over the Rainbow” and enjoys playing a modern Dorothy, whom she describes as funnier and more tomboyish than the original Dorothy.
Wade said, “She’s more relatable to our generation. This is not to say that Judy Garland wasn’t relatable but it’s an older movie and this is a newer production.”
Prior to winning “Over the Rainbow,” Wade studied acting at the University of Windsor in Ontario for two years. After the “Oz” tour, she plans to keep auditioning and hopes to make it to Broadway; she also hopes to go back to school and earn a bachelor’s degree.
Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, who, since 1986, as appeared in many national tours and Broadway shows, including “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” and “Les Miserables,” plays the Wicked Witch of the West, and her sinister laugh on the stage and off make her perfect for the part.
The production had already begun in Toronto, when she was cast as the replacement for the role and met her co-star Wade after rehearsing for two weeks. She said it was difficult, but common in theater to get thrown into the role so quickly.
Donovan said that when she’s on stage playing The Wicked Witch, she’s constantly thinking about walking a fine line between being frightening and being funny.
“I really want to make sure that the audience laughs, but it can’t be at the expense of the witch being the menacing force,” she said.
Donovan said that the writing and design of the Wicked Witch for this adaption of the show is like no other version of the character. To play the witch, Donovan wears a wig that stands up straight, a black leather corset with a feather collar, knee-high boots and a dress with a slit up her leg.
She said, “That’s why it is so imperative to me to remain menacing. All this other stuff is different to the audience.”
Donovan explained that the costume designers made the Witch’s outfit visually dramatic to add another dimension to the original Margaret Hamilton version of the character, and to capture how “wicked” she is.
Donovan said this role is so fun and she loves working with Wade, who recently stayed with her in New York City for a few days.
“We have a great relationship, and it helps tremendously to be able to fly stuff back and forth on stage. I trust her,” Donovan said.
“The Wizard of Oz” will play at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale Jan. 7 through Jan. 19. For tickets, visit fortlauderdale.broadway.com/shows/wizard-oz-baa.
