Back Over the Rainbow

“Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz” means a return trip to the Emerald City in the Santa Monica Playhouse’s imaginative, colorful musical. It seems that Uncle Henry and Auntie Em are about to lose the farm to the bank and the drought, so it’s back to the Land of Oz for Dorothy, to see if her old friend the wizard can help.

This is not the tried-and-true MGM version of the tale--no lion, no scarecrow or tin man, no Toto. This is a new adventure by E. Rudie, and if her original music ranges from fetching to forgettable, the vivid characters, adapted from other “Oz” stories by L. Frank Baum, make up for it.

An electric storm propels Dorothy (Rachel Levy) back to Oz, where she is unexpectedly given a jeweled crown by her new friend, Shaggy Man (John Waroff). He bears a striking resemblance to the wizard and is, in fact, looking for his twin brother. (Waroff also plays the wizard and Uncle Henry.)

Dorothy is joined on her quest by H.M. Wogglebug (Andrew Gaines), the smartestbug in Oz; the combative King Will Hugo IV (Graham Silbert); and Polychrome (Yolanda Johnston), daughter of the Rainbow King, who has been kidnapped by wicked Queen Coo-ee-oh (Cheryl Jennings).

The queen, attended by a comical, big-eared, purple servant (Celeste Akiki), is also responsible for the drought in Kansas. Directed by Jennings, the engaging show clips along at a fast pace, with a few, sometimes lagging, soulful ballads about home, helping others and friendship. When the group struggles to keep its footing trying to climb over the Rolling Hills, Rubber Rocks and the Merry-go-Round Mountains, singing “Ups and Downs,” it’s a hoot, and the song’s message about meeting challenges comes through crystal clear.

The ensemble, led by Levy, gives assured performances some cast members change, depending on whether it’s a Saturday or Sunday show). Jenningsis delightful as the wicked queen (“I’ll get you and your little Bug too”).

James Cooper provides polished lighting and sound design. The set is minimal, but the lively action and Ashley Hayes’ inventive, multicolored costumes--and the jewel-box Santa Monica Playhouse itself--supply visual treats.

It ends on a wistful note, though. When the wizard ensures that the Emerald City will always be a place of goodwill and friendship, Dorothy says, “I wish it could be like that in Kansas, but I imagine it can’t.”

“Imagine it can” is the wizard’s gentle response.

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“Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz,” Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th St., Santa Monica. Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 and 3 p.m. through Oct. 1. $8.50. (310) 394-9779, Ext. 2. https://www.santamonicaplayhouse.com/. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

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Family Arts Festival: The second annual Family Arts Festival, all day Sunday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, is jam-packed with professional and community performances and arts activities for every age--and all of it free.

After being greeted by weirdly wonderful 8- to 12-foot-tall puppets, festival-goers can choose from among scores of offerings on three outdoor stages and two indoor stages, including Bobby Matos and his Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble; Ballet Folklorico de Pacifico; Southland Opera’s comic production “The Night Harry Stopped Smoking”; Kevin Henderson and the Victorious Gospel Group; the Jim Gamble Puppets; Flights of Fantasy storytelling theater; Hula Halau O’Lilinoe; and the Great Plains Indians troupe.

The festival will conclude with American Jazz Philharmonic’s world premiere of Thomas Oboe Lee’s “Jazz Symphony,” created for the National Endowment for the Arts’ nationwide “Continental Harmony, New Music for the Millennium” project.

Presented by the Friends of the Cerritos Center foundation, the festival is “a colorful explosion of music, dance and theater,” said Stacy Brightman, Friends’ education and youth outreach director. “The idea is to show that the arts are a family activity. It’s just sharing that the arts belong to everybody, and that they are what bring us together.”

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“Family Arts Festival,” Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos, Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. (562) 916-8510.