Enriquez, Agnes Jeane K.

12- Integrity

The Wiz Jr. is a play adapted from the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.

Frank Baum. It was held in the Cebu Institute of Technology-University gymnasium and

directed by Rudy U. Aviles and Everild Catugal last December 7 and 8, 2018. I’ve seen

the show during its second day (12/8/18). One of the main characters, Dorothy lived in

the Philippines and was sent off by a tornado to another place which was called the

Land of Oz. After accidentally killing the wicked witch of the east upon her arrival,

Dorothy was told about the Wiz, a wizard who can help her get back to the Philippines.

The musical play was a mixture of sadness and happiness because all the characters

were longing for something and had been through a lot just to get what they have

longed for but at the end of the play they got more than what they wanted, they gained

new friends, new memories to cherish and new lessons in life and ended up living

happily. The major characters of The Wiz Jr are: Dorothy, the hopeful and cheerful girl

and would rather remain as a child as long as possible instead of accepting the

responsibilities of adulthood. Addaperle, the good witch of the north, her magic abilities

don't always pan out as well as she would like them to. Scarecrow, who is tired of being

a scarecrow and the prospect of not going anywhere and embarks on the journey to see

The Wiz in hopes he can provide a brain. Tin man, he was human at one time, lost all

his limbs to a cursed axe and joins in the journey in hopes the Wiz will provide him a

heart. Lion, he travels around the jungle scaring people, but a coward because of

mother issues and joins in the journey to see the wiz to gain some courage. The Wiz,

the all-powerful leader over the land of Oz, hides his true nature behind the façade of a

temperamental leader but is a fraud. Evilline, the wicked witch of the west and pure evil.
Enriquez, Agnes Jeane K.
12- Integrity
Lord High Underling, a weak coward and Evillene's number one. Glinda, the good Witch

of the South, prettiest of all the witches and very wise in the way of show-business.

Perseverance, courage, hope, friendship and believing in one’s self were the

underlying theme of the musical. Each of the characters had problems within

themselves and ended up relying on the power of the wiz but little did they know that

they had the solution all along within their hands. When things got rough and the

characters where caught by Evilline they did not lose hope in getting away in the hands

of the evil witch they persevere through granting the witch’s commands and gave

courage to each other to not give up and when the evil witch tried to hurt Lion, Dorothy

had the courage to spill the bucket of water into her face and the evil witch melted and

was gone. Though they had to travel a tough road to grant their wishes they stand tall

and kept walking because of the bond of friendship that made them stronger and

powerful. Also, it was evident in the scene where they found out that the wiz did not

have any magic at all to help them but instead gave them things to believe in

themselves. The wiz gave a diploma to the scarecrow, a medal of courage to the lion

and a necklace with a heart pendant to the tin man. These things gave them a push to

believe in themselves because Scarecrow would not have gone on a journey without a

functional brain, Tin man would not have gain new friends without a heart and Lion

would not have gone through all the dark phases of their journey without the courage

within him. Next, is the scene where Glinda appeared and gave a hint to Dorothy that all

this time, she had the way to go back home which was the red boots all shed had to do

was clicked her heel three times and believed in herself. Believing in yourself is the key

to accomplish what lies within your heart.

Enriquez, Agnes Jeane K.
12- Integrity
The set, costumes, make up, lighting and sound of the play were effective

enough to capture the hearts of the audience. The props and the designs were of

quality, eye catching and gave emphasis to the events of the play. The costumes were

well made, each of the characters suited their customs very well. The heavy make up of

the casts helped the audience see their faces and expressions clearly especially to

those at the back part of the bleachers. The lighting was pretty good especially when

they had those special effects that added more feelings to the scene but sadly for me

the sound was not that good because I could not figure out some of the lines the

characters have said. The voice of the characters was a bit deep and low when they are

just plainly talking but when they were singing it was all good.

I was really impressed by the actors because they did a pretty great job in

performing. Their hard word had been paid off. They sang pretty good and they

memorized all their lines and actions. They act like as if they were really the characters.

Dorothy was this cute and friendly girl, Scarecrow was all wobbly, Tinman could do the

robotic dance and Lion was being a scaredy cat. They portrayed all of these exquisitely.

They delivered their lines as if it was really coming out from their mouth not just from a

piece of memory. They showed real emotions and conveyed it successfully to the

audience. To sum it up The Wiz Jr. was a successful play, I really enjoyed its magical

feeling and the bond between new friends, even though it was the first play ever

organized by CIT-U, I was super impressed. I was astonished by the overall outcome of

the play and hope that this is not the first and the last play that will happen in the school.