THEATER REVIEWS : ‘Oz’ Works Some Magic in Glendora

Theater-goers had to dodge a light drizzle to get there, only a few snowflakes fell during the poppy scene, Toto stole the show with every wag of his stubby tail and coy spotlights played hide-and-seek with the cast, but the familiar story worked its charm and the bubbly national touring production of “The Wizard of Oz” was a major crowd-pleaser at Haugh Performing Arts Center in Glendora on Thursday.

The show moves to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts today and Sunday.

This recreation of the MGM film classic, with (limited) Flying by Foy and added material that was cut from the movie, is the Royal Shakespeare Company version that has been touring for several years. But judging from the vocal enthusiasm of Thursday’s audience, its appeal for young and old is undiminished.

And, although the professional cast, directed by Richard Ericson and headed by Kim Smith as Dorothy, won’t make you forget the originals, the actors do a respectable job with both the Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg movie score and John Dietrich’s stage choreography, particularly in the riotous “Jitterbug” number, not seen in the film.

The spare bus-and-truck look of Kent Homchick’s sets is made up for by designer John Carver Sullivan’s lavish, colorful costumes and the rib-tickling puppets and creatures created by Big Nazo Studio, including assorted comic Munchkins and the great Oz himself, a giant head with rolling eyes.

Terrific ensemble numbers and the small but spirited orchestra, led by conductor Kelsey Halbert, add excitement and depth. The elaborate lighting design by Tom Sturge would too, if not for Thursday’s frequent glitches, one of which made the liquidation of the Wicked Witch (Ellen Martin) decidedly anticlimactic.

Besides Smith and Martin, the cast includes Matthew MacDougall as the Scarecrow, Brad Wills as the Tin Man and scene-stealer Lennie Watts as the comic Cowardly Lion. Alezander M. Oleksij is the fraudulent but kindly Wizard and Debora J. Rascoe doubles as Aunt Em and a somewhat raffish Glinda.

* “The Wizard of Oz,” Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, today 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. $16-$30; (310) 916-8500. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.