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The New York Times
January 19, 1996, Friday, Late Edition - Final

SKATING REVIEW; This Time, It's an Ice Road to Oz (With Jitterbug)

BYLINE: By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER

SECTION: Section C; Page 3;  Column 1;  Weekend Desk

LENGTH: 567 words

Baum for winter-weary souls is being dispensed with a liberal hand through Sunday at Madison Square Garden, where Dorothy, the Munchkins and all sorts of familiar characters (even Toto) are skimming through a lavish, colorful version of "The Wizard of Oz on Ice." When it finishes its Garden run, Kenneth Feld's production, derived from Victor Fleming's immortal musical film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic novel, is to pack up its wicked witches, its flying monkeys, its poisonous poppies and their skates and head for the Nassau Coliseum (Tuesday through Jan. 28) and the Meadowlands Arena (Jan. 30 through Feb. 5).

But for all the ingenuity and expense ($9 million, according to the program notes) that have been applied to metamorphosing the popular tale into a touring ice show, the result turns out to rest somewhat uneasily between Earth and the enchantment of the Emerald City.

Certainly one can admire the Kansas farmhouse that rises on its base, tilts and spins around the ice in the tornado that sweeps little Dorothy Gale (skated by Jeri Campbell, sung by Laurnea Wilkerson) off to Oz and the beginning of a beautiful friendship with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. And who could not sit in awe of the immense turbaned head of the great and powerful Oz atop a 25-foot throne, or feel the menace of the Winkie Guards of the Wicked Witch of the West, brandishing their spears and chanting "Oh-ee-ah, Ee-YOH-ah"? But leaning understandably toward faithfulness to the dialogue, music and action of the 1939 film, the clone that is "The Wizard of Oz on Ice" leans away from the ample supply of rousing skating and acrobatic clowning that are hallmarks of sterling ice shows.

Still, the businesslike Pair Team of Olga Neizvestnaya-Hunter and Serguei Zaitsev stirs the audience, as do the Rockettelike precision of the Winkie Guards and the lovely costumes and grace of the Poppies.

And as the Cowardly Lion, Mark Richard Farrington flashes acrobatic skills and draws some laughs from children by popping into the audience.

The show, with all 53 singing parts (except for Dorothy but including a couple of canine woofs) attributed to Bobby McFerrin, is notable for resurrecting "The Jitterbug," a swinging number rehearsed for the film but cut for clashing with the mood and adding to its length. It is a lively curiosity.

At times a sound system that dissipates the recorded dialogue creates the impression of attending a liturgy where comfort is derived from the familiar intonations rather than from the words themselves.

As renditions of the classic tale go, "The Wizard of Oz on Ice," may be candy for the eye, but it finishes a distant third to the book and the movie. THE WIZARD OF OZ ON ICE Produced by Kenneth Feld; adapted and directed by Jerry Bilik; special choreographer and creative consultant, Robin Cousins; production designer, Mark Fisher; costumes by Frank Krenz; lighting by LeRoy Bennett. At Madison Square Garden.

WITH: Jeri Campbell (Dorothy), Brent Frank (Tin Woodman), Andrei Kirov (Scarecrow), Mark Richard Farrington (Cowardly Lion), Chris Hargreaves (Wizard, Professor Marvel, Guard, Cabbie), Olga Neizvestnaya-Hunter and Sergei Zaitsev (Pair Team), Nancy Barber (Wicked Witch of the West, Miss Gulch), Clair Holden (Glinda) and the voices of Laurnea Wilkerson (Dorothy) and Bobby McFerrin (everyone else).

PR
PR Newswire

August 9, 1995, Wednesday - 17:59 Eastern Time

HOT TALENTS CREATE COOL NEW VERSION OF AMERICAN CLASSIC THE WIZARD OF OZ ON ICE

SECTION: Entertainment, Television, and Culture

LENGTH: 532 words

The world's premier producer of live family entertainment, Kenneth Feld, announced today the assemblage of a spectacular international creative team, from all disciplines of live entertainment, to bring the first fully-length production of The Wizard of Oz on Ice to over 80 American cities and 32 nations, beginning in the fall of 1995. Whirlwind rehearsals began in Lakeland, Florida, on July 24th, and the first stop on the Yellow Brick road will be St. Louis' Kiel Center in September. The lavish $9 million classic on ice features the behind-the-scenes talents of some of the world's most outstanding theatrical artists:


 * Bobby McFerrin, ten-time Grammy winner and musical magician,

provides the singing and speaking voices of all 36 (!) characters,

including Toto, with the exception of Dorothy, who is vocalized by

Laurnea Wilkerson


 * Jerry Bilik, award-winning theatrical and music director/story

adaptation


 * Bob Paul, 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist and master craftsman, as

skating director


 * Robin Cousins, 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist and Renaissance man, as

special choreographer and creative consultant


 * Frank Krenz, costume designer, whose stunning creations have

appeared in "Ghostbusters," "Moonstruck," "Dreamgirls" and "Chess"


 * Mark Fisher, production designer, from the visually spectacular

world of R.E.M.'s Monster World Tour and the recent Rolling Stones

Voodoo Lounge Tour


 * LeRoy Bennett, lighting designer for cutting-edge musical artists

such as Prince, The Cure, Janet Jackson and Bon Jovi

In assembling the team, Mr. Feld noted, "Everyone around the world has their favorite moments from the 1939 movie.
 * Roger Gans, sound designer for the renowned San Francisco Opera

VIENNA, Va., Aug. 9 Its appeal is both universal and inspirational. With a story that is so well-known and loved, I wanted a creative team that would insure all those memorable elements would be in our production, but in a new and exciting way. We've created a live theatrical experience in which we can break new ground that is high-tech, dynamic and three-dimensional for contemporary audiences. It has all the energy, heart and wit of the classic story combined with the beauty and artistry of figure skating."   Mr. Feld produces two touring units of The Greatest Show On Earth, Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage, Broadway's "Fool Moon," which has been to Europe and is poised for a return engagement to the U.S., and seven internationally touring units of Walt Disney's World On Ice.  Over 25 million people a year experience A Kenneth Feld Family production somewhere under the rainbow. PhotoExpress Network today -- see PRN1.  Also, a free photo to accompany this story is available immediately via Wieck Photo Database to any media with telephoto receiver or electronic darkroom, PC or Macintosh, that can accept overhead transmissions.  To retrieve a photo, please call 214-392-0888.    PRNewsFotos are also available via PressLink.  Please call 703-758-1740 for additional information./     CONTACT: Judy Twersky or Barbara Pflughaupt of P&F Communications, 718-263-5825

Lakeland
The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida)

September 1, 1995, Friday

YELLOW-BRICK ROAD SHOW PUTTING THE EMERALD CITY ON ICE TAKES MORE THAN JUST A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR BACKSTAGE OVER THE RAINBOW

BYLINE: Bill Dean The Ledger

SECTION: Time Out ;Pg. 14TO

LENGTH: 1245 words

The Yellow Brick Road isn't so yellow and its travelers may need special footwear to skip down the trail. But the Cowardly Lion is still a cool cat on the inside and Toto's talent for escape is as sharp as ever.

And Dorothy? Well, let's just say Dorothy is still bedazzled about life over the rainbow.

Jeri Campbell, who plays Dorothy in the brand-new "Wizard of Oz on Ice" show, meanwhile, is bedazzled by a $ 9 million production which promises just about every memorable moment -- and then some -- from the classic 1939 film.

"I've never been involved with a production this big," says Campbell, who at 24 is a former U.S. champion figure-skater.

"And this is probably one of the biggest that there is for skating." The Cowardly Lion (in the form of British stunt skater Mark Farrington) concurs.

"The special effects are fantastic," Farrington says. "I think the opening scene with the tornado is going to be very impressive.

"You will see a house being spun around in the air."

And that's just the beginning.

As soon as the house lights go down, expect this journey to Oz to be packed with action, instantly recognizable music and a cast of silver-screen characters filled with three-dimensional life.

To transfer the 1939 film starring Judy Garland into an ice-show extravaganza, producer Kenneth Feld recruited British Olympic skater/actor Robin Cousins as choreographer; singer Bobby McFerrin to record all voices (except for Dorothy's), and production designer Mark Fisher, who designed recent tours for Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and U2.

And from all accounts, the production appears to get as close to recreating the magic as any modern-day rendition could.

"Mr. Feld has a vision," Farrington says simply.

"And his vision's big."

Feld, the man best known for presenting the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, as well as the Walt Disney World on Ice shows, says the film had the universal appeal to become a classic ice-show production.

"First and foremost, it's the ability to touch the emotions of the audience and the public," Feld says.

"This has incredible music; great songs. It has extraordinary character development. The personalities are so memorable," he says. "And when you get all of those things, that's the combination that makes for success.

"For us to be successful, you have to take all those elements that we know work in other mediums and translate (them) to the ice.

"And that's what I feel we've done, quite successfully."

The translation comes complete with a creative team of big names and enough prize-winning skating talent to open a gold jewelry store.

Canadian Bob Paul, an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1960, is providing the skating direction.

Cousins, who won a Gold Medal in skating at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980, has gone on to become a successful skating choreographer, as well as an actor ( a touring production of Cats," "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in London).

To choreograph "The Wizard of Oz on Ice," Cousins' approach was to give audiences what they would expect -- and then surprise them with more.

The ice show, in fact, will introduce audiences to the "Jitterbug" dance number -- which was written and shot for the original film, but edited out of the final release.

"I put it back in and we open the second act with the Jitterbug' number which is one of my favorites," Cousins says. "I love it and I was adamant that that would be in."

"I was told that it was cut, because at that point the Jitterbug dance was becoming a big craze and they didn't want to have the dance be associated with the movie; because the dance craze would end and they wanted the movie to go on."

Because audiences have never seen the sequence, however, Cousins felt a free had to choreograph what he felt would work best.

Thanks to costumes, trappings, effects and choreography, other scenes will hit home to audiences who remember the smallest details of the film.

Munchkinland, and Emerald City, should be instantly recognizable.

"We've got these great, wild sort of costumes that absolutely say exactly what Munchkinland is: It's fun and it's fresh and these are jolly people," Cousins says. "So the choreography is accordingly.

"Then to Emerald City, and it's much more sedate," he says. "It's like going to a tea party at Buckingham Palace; it's all very hoity-toity. So the steps have been done accordingly.

"It's very distinct. For anybody who's watched My Fair Lady' and have seen the ascot scene, that's the idea behind emerald city."

Musically, no new material was written for the ice show -- all of the music came from the original score.

"When they got the rights from Ted Turner (who owns the rights to "The Wizard of Oz" film), they gave them everything," Cousins says. "All the scoring and everything, and they worked from that. So there's nothing original."

The voices, on the other hand, are a horse of another color. Or something like that: A cappella vocalist whiz McFerrin recorded all the speaking and singing voices himself -- except for Dorothy's (which was recorded by Laurnea Wilkerson).

"Initially, we were going to get studio voices; people we've used over the years," Feld says. "But Jerry Bilik (theatrical director and music adaptor/story adaptor) came to me and said You know, it would really be fantastic if we could get Bobby Mcferrin to do all the voices.'

"I said, I never really thought of it; you're right.' So he calls (McFerrin's manager) and she was receptive and he was really receptive.

Ironically, Feld says, one of McFerrin's early musical jobs was in performing in an iceshow band in the early '70s.

"It was funny... he knew all about us," Feld says. "I think it's something that he wanted to do so his kids could enjoy it.

"And it's extraordinary, because you get into the show and it's That can't be the same person doing all the voices."'

BOBBY MCFERRIN: speaking and singing voice of all characters except Dorothy. A 10time Grammy winner best known for "Don't Worry, Be Happy," McFerrin's diverse background includes jazz, classical, pop music and conducting. His professional collaborations range from work with Chick Corea to Robin Williams to the Muppets. He has conducted more than 40 major symphonic ensembles including the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Washington D.C.'s National Symphony.

JERRY BILIK: theatrical Director and Music Director Story Adaptation. Bilik's show business career began when he spent summers as a teenager at the National Music Camp in Interlocken, Mich. Bilik has won Academy, Emmy and Grammy Awards for his work in television and film. He scored songs for "Real Life" and "Best Man," and arranged music for "Starsky and Hutch" and "Charlie's Angels." Bilik is creative director of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and Walt Disney's World On Ice.

ROBIN COUSINS: special choreographer and creative consultant. Cousins is an Olympic Gold Medal winning figure skater from Great Britain. He has worked with international skating stars, commented on Olympic skating for network television in Great Britain and the United States. His career has not been limited to skating. Cousins developed a career in other performing and fine arts -- ranging from singing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra to performing with the traveling production of "Cats" -- to his paintings, the focus of a recent exhibit in Los Angeles.

1st performance St Louis
September 15, 1995, Friday, FIVE STAR LIFT Edition

'WIZARD OF OZ' TRANSLATES WELL INTO SHOW ON ICE

BYLINE: Deborah Peterson Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

SECTION: EVERYDAY MAGAZINE; Pg. 3E

LENGTH: 495 words

'Wizard of Oz on Ice' Where: Kiel Center

When: 7:30 tonight, Saturday at noon, 3:30 and 7:30; Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Tickets: $ 9.50, $ 12.50 and $ 15.50

Information: 622-5400

THE CAST of "The Wizard of Oz on Ice" brought down the house the first time in the show's world premiere here Wednesday. Their fans brought it down again.

The first time, Dorothy Gale's house in Kansas whirled through the air, landing on the Wicked Witch of the East.

The second time was when the thousands of Wizard of Oz fans packed into Kiel Center gave the sparkling show a standing ovation. It was worthy of the ovation. The show featured outstanding skating, fabulous costumes and a superior set. The story is the same warm and wonderful fable everyone remembers from the 1939 movie version.

While the Kenneth Feld production on ice is not 100 percent faithful to the movie, the tinkering won't bother most purists. Or little girls and boys who know almost every word by heart.

Jeri Campbell, a top United States and international figure skater who plays Dorothy, manages to even look a little like the young Judy Garland with her turned-up nose, brunette pigtails and blue gingham dress.

Mark Richard Farrington, who plays the Cowardly Lion, does some virtuoso skating, especially in one scene where he bends backwards from his knees - like a person dancing the limbo - and skates perpendicular to the floor.

The Scarecrow, played by Ukrainian pairs gold-medal champion Andrei Kirov, is the same warm and tender-hearted character that he was in the movie. Kirov skates the Scarecrow in a floppy, loose-limbed style - like Ray Bolger's Scarecrow.

Brent Frank, a Canadian figure-skating champion, uses skill and a great costume to bring the Tin Woodman to life. The costume looks like metal but is actually laminated layers of wire mesh covered with Latex and painted to look like metal.

Toto is wonderful. Supposedly played by three different dogs, two females and one male, Toto is a Cairn terrier, which was the same breed used in the movie. These Totos looked just like the real thing and acted just like him (her?), too. And, no, the Totos did not wear skates or dog booties. They walked across the ice with their naked paws.

Deserving of special mention is the vocal performance of Bobby McFerrin, who speaks, sings and woofs the roles of 36 people and a dog. He does all the voices in the show except for Dorothy. Dorothy's voice was done by singer and actress, Laurnea Wilkerson, who starred in the national touring company production of "The Wiz" for more than two years.

Aside from the principals in the show, excellent performances were given by skaters in the large production numbers. Those were also numbers that allowed costume designer Frank Krenz to use color, shape and form to its best advantage. Among the more outstanding numbers were Emerald City, the Munchkins and the guards of the Wicked Witch of the West's castle.

END