Phoenix Productions' 'Wizard of Oz' flies into Basie - literally - this weekend

RED BANK - Bicycling through a tornado? Glinda arriving by bubble?

Check and check, plus about five more gravity-defying moments.

Phoenix Productions is presenting "The Wizard of Oz" at the Count Basie Center for the Arts this weekend, and the show is flying into town — literally.

"That first time (flying) happens, the entire audience just gasps," said Phoenix artistic producing director James Grausam. It's his first time working on a show with flying, alongside director Justin Christopher Odon, he said, making it "scary and exciting."

The flying effects, which are provided by ZFX, mean a lot more safety and security protocols for the show, extra rehearsal hours — and a whole lot of excitement from the cast.

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"The Wizard is just over the moon because he says, 'you know, I've been doing stage shows for the last 30 years and I've never gotten to fly, and finally I'm old enough to play the Wizard, and I get to go up in the balloon.'"

Grausam has served as a mentor to Odon, and handed over the reins for this show, Odon's first mainstage directing gig. He says that showcases exactly what Phoenix aims to do — encourage performers and creative team members to come up through the ranks and find their time to shine.

The cast also exemplifies Phoenix's work, with its ranks including "the whole breadth of the community," Grausam said, from seven up to "we don't talk about" years old, he laughed. "We call it the Phoenix family and this one's definitely become a little family, we have the full gamut."

Phoenix and the Basie officially joined forces earlier this year, a move that not only allows Grausam "to be the artistic director as opposed to all the paperwork," but gives the troupe more access to work at the Basie, which he says will shine through next year. They will expand from four to five mainstage shows a year, and their tech abilities will flourish with more access to the facility.

Odon already has his own take on directing style.

"I don't just want to be the type of director that's like 'OK, it's a classic movie. Let's just put the whole movie on the stage and call it a day.' It's more of 'let's take moments from all the books that L. Frank Baum wrote, let's take some nuances from the movie and then let's make these characters us,'" he said.

He said all the cast members, from the youngest up, are enjoying putting their own stamps on the characters.

"We just go from here all the way up because they add more layers and every day I encourage them to just bring more tomorrow. And then they do and ... we call it 'The Wizard of Oz Parfait.' We're trying to make this nice, very tasteful parfait that we're going to bring to the Basie for everybody to enjoy," he said.

One example that he and Grausam are loving is the "In The Merry Old Land of Oz," when the youngest cast members are excited to retake the stage as Munchkins.

"They've been trees, they've been crows, they've been poppies and other fun things. They're like 'oh, we're humans again,'" Grausam said.

Odon said he told them to their seize their moments.

"We created little bits and pieces for a lot of the ensemble. We have a janitor that goes across, we have what we call the gossip girls, basically on the way to Starbucks. We have an Oz family pushing a carriage full of babies. We have lawyers in Oz, we created these different pieces. And we also hid in something from the movie," he teased.

Odon also points to the show's most notable song as what he hopes will be a meaningful connection for audience members.

"'Over The Rainbow' is such a powerful moment in the show, and I hope during that moment the audience can start to think about what's their 'Over The Rainbow'? Have they found that 'Over The Rainbow' yet because through life we all go through that 'where is my "Over The Rainbow" moment?' It takes time and it takes a journey to find it."

He said he has thought a lot of that lately since he lost his grandmother over the summer — and he's dedicating the show to her and his grandfather.

"The Wizard of Oz" is playing at 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank. For tickets and more information, visit thebasie.org/events/phoenix-productions-the-wizard-of-oz.

For more on Phoenix Productions' upcoming shows, visit https://www.phoenixredbank.com and visit thebasie.org for upcoming programming.

Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns. She highlights arts advocacy and education, theater fundraisers and more through her column, "Sightlines." Reach out on Twitter: @ilanakeller; ikeller@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 'Wizard of Oz' flies into Red Bank NJ Count Basie this weekend