Some of the little twists were adaptations to strict new fire code regulations in Vista, which certainly meant no sparks were used in the production. Good news for Scarecrow, as the Wicked Witch was banned from the use of fire. Bad news for Tinman, as water was not banned, and you know Tinman rusts so dreadfully. Probably my favorite “adaptation” was the great face of the Wizard of Oz that frightens our heroes in the wizard’s throne room. Due to limitations on the props they could have backstage, the group got away from high-tech projections and instead improvised using two-dimensional cutouts of facial parts – eyes, eyebrows, a nose, and lips that divided up into four parts – all held and moved and rotated separately by the little Munchkins to make the Great and Powerful Oz look like he was talking (staggered on risers to make the face large and tall). There were a couple of drops, which added some amusing “jaw-dropping, eye-popping” surprises to the scene, and just added to the entertaining new face of Oz.

Other little twists and surprises were planned in advance. Professor Marvel (Jason Craig) teaching himself card tricks, and giving the audience a little diverting vaudevillian entertainment during intermission with his bad tricks and really bad jokes. There’s the magnetic heart perfectly suited for tinmen. And there’s the Wicked Witch who enters and exits the scenes through the creepy cellar doors behind which lurks a sinister red glow, smoke, and the smell of sulfur. She dumps the typical black pointy hat in favor of some hysterically wicked frizzy hair – hair that you half expect not to melt in the show’s climactic moment.

The Wicked Witch (Catherine McEniry) is played with magnificently wicked voice, expression, and body language, often pulling on her frizzy hair with frustration as things keep going wrong, as when good witch Glinda (Carina Cure) sabotages Wicked Witch’s ruthless use of poisoned poppies to end Act I. As Dorothy, Mallory Arquilla has a nice voice and is a little more pensive than most Dorothies, which is perhaps a bit more realistic as there are plenty of things in Oz to be concerned about, the whole thing would be a bit overwhelming, and of course she misses her home. The Scarecrow (Theo Nicholson) performs a great If I Only Had a Brain and gets a little sick at Tinman’s gory autobiography, that Tinman (Nick Zappardino) has an entertaining song-and-dance with some sassy apple trees, and Lion (Matt Tucker) was comically cowardly. Jason Craig as the Wizard delivered his gifts with a surprising gift of humor. The adorable little flower-child Munchkins, dancing Jitterbugs, and happy Ozians added energy to the show. And the laidback Toto (Robbie a.k.a. Rob Roy), who doesn’t quite fit into Miss Gultch’s little basket, takes the whole Oz thing in easygoing, four-legged stride.