Click your ruby slippers here

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Drama Critic

•	'The Wizard of Oz' Diamond Head Theatre 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 3; 3 p.m. matinees July 26 and Aug. 2 Extended run — 8 p.m. Aug. 8, 3 and 8 p.m. Aug. 9, 4 p.m. Aug. 10 Tickets: $10-$40; discounts for students, seniors, military Information: 733-0274

Based on the children's story by L. Frank Baum and filled with music and lyrics from the 1939 Judy Garland movie that has become part of the American psyche, it's an evening that everyone can love.

Jennifer Waldman directs and choreographs the show for Diamond Head Theater. She turned in a stunning "Titanic" on the same stage last year, and hits all the right notes with this production. The combination of professional direction and local talent is hard to beat.

At the top of the list for accolades is Kim Anderson as Dorothy. She not only sings and acts well, but she holds her own against that scene-stealing little dog, too.

Good body microphones mean that Anderson doesn't need to belt out the music for it to reach the back row. But she doesn't have a small voice, either. It's a comfortable, natural mid-range instrument that sustains the notes and gives good sense and emotion to the phrasing.

She also handles the lines and the choreography and blends into the ensemble like a seasoned trouper. Director Waldman surrounds her with excellent supporting players.

Julia Ogilvie gives an impressively mature performance as the Scarecrow. There's remarkable clarity in her vocal and physical presence and the right number of rubber-knee pratfalls to convince us that she really is stuffed with straw.

Jimi Wheeler is delightful as the Tin Woodsman and adopts a robotic presence that anticipates C3PO from "Star Wars" by at least 40 years. Agaton Pasion Jr. is a bundle of weepy nerve endings as the Cowardly Lion.

Tracy Yamamoto is charming as Glinda, Good Witch of the North, F.L. Cabacungan is fun as the Emerald City guard, and Dion Donahue cranks up his histrionics as the Wizard himself.

But save room for Kathleen Sulieman, who scores as both Miss Almira Gultch and the Wicked Witch of the West. She has a cackling laugh guaranteed to turn your blood to sherbet.

The kids' chorus is neatly turned out by costumer Karen Wolf as munchkins, poppies, and in-line skating monkeys. They are well rehearsed and delightful as they unabashedly copy the movie mannerisms that welcome Dorothy to Munchkinland. Look for the W.C. Fields sneer from the Lollypop Guild.

Patrick Kelly's sets and Wolf's costumes effectively transition from the dusty beige world of Kansas to the Technicolor world of Oz. And if they could find some way to represent the tornado that sweeps up Dorothy, it would be a perfect stage recreation of the film.

Roslyn Catracchia does the musical direction and her orchestra and singers do justice to "Over the Rainbow," "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "Yellow Brick Road," and "We're Off to See the Wizard."

"The Wizard of Oz" is a solid production that should do well at the box office. Its run has already been extended.