“I’m playing the lion in this production. It’s such a wonderful role — he’s a tremendous scene-stealer,” says Jason Silzer, of the Scarborough Music Theatre (SMT). In the midst of a just-over two-week production of The Wizard of Oz at the Scarborough Village Theatre, SMT is holding a special matinee sing-along performance. “It’s a dress-up and sing-along; if people want to come as their favourite character — wear their ruby slippers — they’re more than welcome to,” Silzer says. “It can be very fun to be onstage — you get a certain kind of appreciation from the audience when they’re enjoying the show — but there’s a whole different kind of reaction you get from a sing-along,” he says.

Silzer is quick to point out that it's not the Rocky Horror Picture Show. “It’s a sing-along, not an audience participation, so when they say, ‘If I only had a brain,’ you’re not supposed to throw brains! And you’re not supposed to throw hearts!” he laughs. This production of Oz will be somewhat unusual, he says. “There are certainly things that people want out of their Wizard of Oz, but we’ve really drawn a lot of inspiration from the original novel.” Some differences will include the appearance of the witches, the musical numbers, the portrayal of Dorothy (it will actually be a brilliant, quite young girl playing the role!), the costumes and the various encounters in the plot. “It’s really exciting to be a part of it — this is going to be quite unique.”

— Jeremy Willard

 
The Wizard of Oz Sing-Along is Sat, Nov 10, 2pm (regular Oz performances are run till Sat, Nov 17) at Scarborough Village Theatre, 3600 Kingston Rd.
theatrescarborough/com/smt_home.html