El Mago (The Wiz) - México, DF Tickets

This was a "B-" production w/ a ticket price unbefitting the entertainment. I actually fell asleep for about 15 mins or so. The stage set/props were so, ???, I don't even have the words to describe it. My kids high school put on The Wizard of Oz last year and it was 4x better than this; plus it only cost $10 per ticket. Dorothy was the best performer w/ Tin Man a good second. The Giggles and the fun witch did good as well as the Emerald City dancers & the Crows. But, for the most part the acting and the feable attempt at jokes, some laced with profanity, was NOT GOOD. Lines like " what the hell" & "get yo ass" should not be in a family classic like the Wiz, especially when little children are viewing. It had to be the most unpolished stage production I've ever seen at a major venue. And trust I would know as my brother produced many concerts at Arie Crown. This probably should only get a C- for effort at best. I JUST can't get over the lack of stage set /backdrop which NEVER covered the stage & left the whole thing looking/feeling incomplete. Not to mention constantly being to see the stagehands movie stuff around & hold up parts of the set during the scenes. The wicked witch is dead, & this production needs to shape up or die w/her. I've NEVER given a harsh critique before now, but somebody needs to know before spending $70 - $80 per person on these tickets like I did - and I bought 6!!! Not to mention drove 3 hours from Michigan to my home in Chicago just for this show. You do the math.

I thought Robin Givens would have a bigger role with the way this event was advertised on V103. But overall it was ok.

Stage management did not execute effectively, very clumsy transition. For example during one scene the curtain was lowered on the head of the scarecrow and there were many other mistakes that made this production un-enjoyable.

This entire production, from start to finish was disappointing and unprofessional. The set was scarce, tacky, cheap. The acting and singing were mediocre, and the sound was awful. The microphones went in and out during the whole show, so the audience only heard partial dialogues and songs. The show did not start on time. Set changes were slow and one prop (a door) didn't work. 3 dancers bumped into each other onstage and almost knocked one of them over mid-dance. This show was not appropriate for children, though it was advertised as a "family" play. There was cursing and sexually tinged jokes. It appeared that some actors flubbed their lines and winged it. I was offended by the liquor given to the lion for courage, some of the suggestive dancing, and the forest called Englewoods. There was also offensive language used about Chicago's crime statistics. Inappropriate!

Some of the actors did not have mics so you couldn't hear them, the play included references to alcohol which is not appropriate for smaller children and there was no yellow brik road until they reached Oz! Really? Lastly, too many actors fumbled their lines. Good effort but not ready...it shouldn't be advertised as a Broadway show when clearly its not.

I admire the writer's sense of creativity, however the plot was not developed enough for me. I also found some of the script to be too lewd for children. The singers really tried but just didn't cut it. I thought Robin Givens and Lenny Williams would have bigger roles but sadly did not.

sooooo... I enjoyed the scarecrow,tinman and the lion. I went to the first show which should have been classified as a dress rehearsal. there were to many mistakes before the intermission for them to charge regular price. the singing was great. evermeans sister should have just played her role. dorothy coukd really sing but it was hard for me to get into her character.I am a wiz fan and own the dvd and watch it alll the time. I ended up leaving at intermission so I didnt see the end. tickets should have been $25 instead but thats just my opinion. dancers were awesome!

Production seemed to be "thrown together". Microphones were horrible! Sets were ok, but stage crew seemed to have trouble getting them in place in a timely fashion. Additional scenes that weren't in the original musical weren't really necessary to the story line.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Hearing all the songs reminded me of when I originally saw the Wiz, took me back to my childhood. They kept true to the original story, but added a little relevance to today and Chicago!! The dancers were awesome!!

The play was great. Performed all the great songs we wanted to hear. The sound engineer did a horrible job! The first act was too loud when the mics were actually turned on. The props didn't work either so that was distracting when actors are speaking in the back about doors not opening with hot mics and performers on stage at the same time.

This was the worse play I've ever seen. Sound sucked. Stage props didn't work. Took lightening forever to light up the yellow brick road. The reference to people get killed in Chicago & Englewoods was tacky. The lion getting liquid courage from a bottle of Crown Royale was insane. The behind the stage commentary was interesting & we should not have been able to heat. I wish I could have a refund, reimbursement for gas & get the 4 wasted hours of my life back.

Amateur show advertised as a Broadway musical. A waste of time and money.

Let's began with the sound department, this is the Arie Crown Theatre and the sound quality was piss poor. Microphones were imbalance some you could barely hear while others were way too loud! The cast was mediocre. While some were awesome like Dorothy others over did it with an overwhelming long runs and too much voice fluctuation. Sing well and articulate tastefully. Let's not over do it though. Because I know there's so much talent and competition in Chicago in the field of solo performance I felt like the selected cast should have been flawless. The soloist were good, don't get me wrong, BUT they could have been a lot better to really wow the audience and keep us engaged. The play itself had an extremely urban twist which I personally felt watered down the storyline some. Let's keep it classy not tacky. The transition from scene to scene was smooth but the storyline was lost a bit in some transition simply due to drastic rewriting of the script. I witnessed "The Wiz" play live at Whitney Young High School in 2002 or 2003.... Can't remember the exact year. However, this play was articulately performed with similar storyline to the movie, excellent cast and it was amazing. Considering that was high school and this was suppose to be professional. I wasn't thrilled with the production. A solid cast and selection of excellent voices and a solid storyline produces great plays. Falling mediocre in these field produces mediocre plays overall. I was quite disappointed to say the least. Shoot for excellence and excellence even in it efforts will be acknowledged.

I was sorely disappointed in this adaptation of The Wiz. While the singing was good (when the technical difficulties didn't interfere), it was not on par with the original, nor the movie. It would have been nice to hear the Lion sing his, "I'm a Lion" song, but we could really only hear Dorothy. I get that J Ruffin was trying to modernize it and bring a Chicago feel to it, but it was a bit too much for my taste. And when did the Evilene have another sister??? Why start the backstory of the flying monkeys and then not complete it? Robin Givens as the flying monkey mother/wife??? She could have just as well been Evilene seeing as how Evilene didn't sing. And to top it all off, Lenny Williams as Uncle Henry??? Really???? No, I will not recommend this to anyone.

I was looking forward to the event because I absolutely love the movie. I've watched it over and over again over the years. The rendition of the crows and the scarecrow was the highlight of the night. Tyrell Carter did a great job!!!! I also loved the performances by the Tin Man, Dorothy and the Lion in that order. The singing was great and the dancing was awesome. I was sorely disappointed with the additions to the storyline. Christian Keyes was Dorothy's boyfriend who proposes to her. I think that part was added to sell tickets. The story of the flying monkeys was absolutely ridiculous. I thought I had started watching an episode of Planet of the Apes. The character created for Robin Givens was meaningless. It was horrible. I was so glad when we got passed that castrophe and continued with the classic. The play was ok and could have been great if they would have stuck with the original storyline. The movie was so great that there was no need to divert from the original script. I give it a C.

Love it and enjoy it so much. Nice production. Greatly actors and dancers

The sets were bad, the sound were bad, and some of the storyline was bad. At some points in the beginning all I could think was "this is not the wiz". The singing was really the only good thing about the show. I felt like it was a high school production. But for $50 you really could not ask for more.

Overall, the play was enjoyable. The vocals on the actors and actress outweighed the multiple technical and stage prop difficulties. But other than that, the play is worth seeing again, well if mics and props are checked prior to the show. Oh, one more thing, having at least a 1 page hand bill (free), in addition to the books sold may have been helpful in knowing were some of the cast. At the price of the tickets, I was somewhat disappointed. But play was pretty ok.

Overall it was not what I expected. Where was Regina Bell. I think I missed the casting change. I don't know if it was the Arie Crown or the Theater group but the sound system was horrible. Dorothy was terrible. Only two good singers the scarecrow and Dorothy's aunt. The story line did not flow for me. What was the point of the sick uncle and Dorothy coming back home and getting married, I just think it could have came together better.

Bad sound. Could not hear the actors. Robin Givens - what was her purpose???? Just a sales tactic??? Late comers were seated during performance. The ushers stood right in front of you trying to figure out tickets/seats. Couldn't see a thing.