There is a historic rush over Frognerparken this summer. In any case, it whizzes right past the Monolith, in the large, blue circus tent which for many years has housed children’s theater productions performed by the second-year students at the Theater Academy. It is buzzing because the blue tent has its last summer as a theater tent, now it is retired. And it’s buzzing because it’s exactly 50 years since Ellen Horn and Bentein Baardson started what has become an annual tradition since then: children’s performances all summer where upcoming theater stars get to hone their skills on the finest and most challenging audience of them all: the children. Life without imagination At Sommerteateret this year, director Petter Winther has written about Lyman Frank Baum’s story “The Wizard of Oz”. In the 2024 version, it is about the strength of being different. Because Dorothy does not fit in where she lives. On the farm in Kansas with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, everything should be ordinary and normal. Colors are not allowed, madness is not allowed, and imagination is not something special. It is only as far as it is allowed to play. FIGHTING: The lion (Idun Aasheim Mykland), the scarecrow (Jonas Skjelde), Dorothy (Eline Torsdatter Karijord) and the tin man (Sebastian Sergio Tao Fogh) fight for heart, brain and courage in the projection “The Wizard of Oz”. But everything they need is already in them. (The picture was taken during the trial period.) Photo: Edvard Arntzen Karijord Everything goes as it should with Dorothy: The tornado comes, and she and the dog are blown off guard to the fairyland of Oz. Together with a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion she meets there, she tempts her to find her own wizard in fairyland. What the four have in common is that they don’t feel good enough in themselves. Everyone is different, and everyone thinks they have to become something else to be accepted. The perilous journey proves that they are wrong: What they need is already in them. Verbatim It is the first time that “The Wizard of Oz” is played by the theater students in Frognerparken. During the fifty years, most well-known children’s stories have had their turn in the tent: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Robin Hood”, “Alice in Wonderland” – but not this one. Perhaps not so strange: It is an extensive story (which many adults will know from the film from 1939), and it has many characters. Although the story is rewritten, there is still a good deal to keep track of. The solution is to put a lot of information in the replicas, sometimes unnecessarily much. In any case, when I see how much excess the students play in the scenes that have less talk. Here there is exuberant playfulness and wonderful detailed gameplay at times, but the text sometimes gets in the way. SCARY: The Wicked Witch of the West (Sofia Tjelta Sydness) has a big voice and a scary appearance. Together, the four heroes manage to get hold of him anyway. (The photo was taken during the trial period.) Photo: Edvard Arntzen Karijord. It’s not that easy for the children to follow along, either, they are somehow not invited into the story. But the fight scene between the four heroes and the helpers of the wicked witch, for example, has a lot of speed and many fine details. More of this! Seeing the children The scenography is overwhelming and clever, full of exciting hatches and rooms that appear. Extensive work must have been put into both scenography and costume, and it works well. But occasionally it is as if they have lost sight of the audience, the children. FANTASY: Imaginative scenography with many intriguing hatches and openings in “The Wizard of Oz”. (The photo was taken during the trial period.) Photo: Edvard Arntzen Karijord The ice skaters want to show everything they have inside them (no wonder, they are ice skater students) – but sometimes it becomes too much and too much for the four-year-old. Scary witches, loud shouts and loud music are not always what keep a child stuck in history. The presentation had more to gain by making some of the dramatic scenes more low-key. In this way, the truly dramatic can take up more space. The students can also work on trying to see the children’s audience better. After all, they are the important people here, not the theater managers and directors and all other theater people who find their way to the big blue tent in Frognerparken during one summer. Good enough It is easy to see that there is hard work, a lot of precision work and fun behind this year’s presentation from Sommerteateret. The music, the compositions and the musical background are solidly done, and again: There is a lot of fine playing here. “The Wizard of Oz” delivers an important message to children today: “You are good enough as you are. It’s good to be different.” It may not be so original, children’s literature this spring is almost overflowing with stories about accepting oneself with the strange features one has. But in an age where the world and the algorithms tempt most things to be streamlined, you can’t hear that message too often. news reviews Photo: Edvard Arntzen Karijord What: “The Wizard of Oz” By: Lyman Frank Baum Where: Summer tent in Frognerparken, Oslo When: 21 June – 26 July 2024 Music, dramatization, direction, costume design etc.: Petter Winther Actors: Conrad James Mclean, Eline Torsdatter Karijord, Ken-Philippe Tete, Nora Moseid, Sebastian Sergio Tao Fogh, Randin Mikael Kummeneje, Jonas Skjelde, Hibba Najeeb, Idun Aasheim Mykland, Sofia Tjelta Sydness Playwright: Julie Støp Husby Musician: Thomas Gunnar Røtting Stage combat instructor: Mathias Augestad Ambjør Scenography assistant: Karina Walgermo Johnsen Directing assistant: Christian Henrik Curcan Sørbye Tailor: Jorge Lera Published 01.07.2024, at 09.42
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“The Wizard of Oz” in the Summer Tent, Frogner Park – Reviews and recommendations
