For the first time ever, Menlo’s drama department will team up with the Black Student Union. The two groups will come together to produce “The Wiz,” a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of contemporary African-American culture. In past years, Menlo produced two musicals in the fall and spring as well as a winter play. This year, there will still be a winter production, but the musical “The Wiz” will be replacing Menlo drama’s traditional play.
The production team has decided to produce a concert-staging of the musical. Instead of a full production with acting scenes and large dance numbers, the show will just feature the modern and vibrant soundtrack of The Wiz through Menlo’s singers.
This musical is an early example of the Broadway industry accepting works with an all-Black cast. The performances will take place in the month of February, which is also Black History Month. Steven Minning, the head of the drama department at Menlo who will be directing “The Wiz,” explained that the production was intentionally scheduled for February. “When I watched the Black History Month assembly last year, I was inspired by the energy and the pride,” Minning said. “I thought, ‘Let’s take that energy and continue the celebration of Black History Month with a winter show.’”
Minning has high hopes for this winter musical and for the students who will participate. “Hopefully the students doing the show will find something new within themselves or maybe awaken something that they didn’t know they had, which is a great experience unto itself,” Minning said.
John Norris, the advisor of the BSU, is very passionate about producing “The Wiz” at Menlo. “This is an opportunity to expose the larger Menlo campus to “The Wiz,” which is an important part of Black culture,” Norris said. “It’s important that there’s some respect being given here to something that is so influential in the Black community.”
The production team — composed of both the drama department and the BSU — has hired an outside-of-school music director for this production named Ken Little. Little has been playing music in the Bay Area for over 40 years, and he now teaches a piano course at the Community Music Center in San Francisco. “I was looking for a music director that could relate to and understand the music and share the music with joy to the cast, ” Minning said.
Little will be at the rehearsals for “The Wiz” to guide the students on their vocals. His role is extremely important because the main focus of the production is the soundtrack. “Most of the students in BSU don’t have a ton of experience in theater, but this is a musical, so we need vocal coaches, someone with experience,” Norris explained.
Sophomore Sage Brandon, a member of the BSU, has been a part of eight total Menlo productions throughout his four years at Menlo. “I love the [drama] program because it has a really good community,” Brandon said.
Brandon said that he is very optimistic and excited to start the production process for “The Wiz.” “The show will be in Black History Month, so I think it’s very important for us to, as a group, show off our culture and what we can do at Menlo,” Brandon said.
The production of “The Wiz” at Menlo will open performances on Feb. 6, 2025, and finish performances on Feb. 8, 2025, during the first week of Black History Month. The community here at Menlo can look forward to this staged concert to support their fellow peers, and learn more about the impactful show, a landmark musical in African-American theater. “I hope this [production] goes well and more Black students in particular want to be more involved in drama,” Norris said. “I hope there are more opportunities for collaboration in the future.”
