All of us have met an Evillene or two in our time, but Dorothy Gale met her first in The Wiz. Everybody knows the story, a sort of blaxploitation version of The Wizard of Oz. While the acting and music are only uneven at best, the real genius of The Wiz was the casting. Thereยs a barefaced Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson (pre-disastrous nose jobs) as the wobbly scarecrow. (He spouts inane lines like ยSuccess, fame and fortune, theyยre all illusions.ย Who knew?). Nipsey Russell is the Tinman and Miss Mabel King is the magnificent Evillene. Sure, Dorothy sings the wistful ยHomeย and uplifting ยIf You Believe in Yourself,ย but itยs Evilleneยs throaty, threatening and completely-ready-for-a-drag-show ยDonยt Nobody Bring Me No Bad Newsย that steals the show. Ease on down the road with The Wiz today at 8:30 p.m. Domy Books, 1709 Westheimer. For information, call 713-523-3669 or visit www.domystore.com. Free.
Mon., Feb. 2, 8:30 p.m., 2009
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2009.