The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is now in its 126th year of delighting audiences. Adaptations of Frank Baum's novel are almost as old. A 1902 Broadway musical was a major success, as was a certain 1939 MGM film. Diana Ross and Michael Jackson starred in the 1978 adaptation "The Wiz," and the Wicked franchise has been popular both on stage and screen. This month, the Jones Center in Springdale will host another take on the original novel, but with a frosty twist. Wizard of Oz on Ice will be in the rink for two performances Saturday, April 25. Alex Wilfand is producer of the national tour and says this production continues a more than century-long fascination with Dorothy, Toto and flying monkeys.
Alex Wilfand: I knew Wicked was coming out a few years ago and we had a tour going for years, “Fairy Tales on Ice,” and I knew we needed something different. And when Wicked announced, I was like, I bet you Wizard of Oz is going to get popular again. So what we did is we started creating the show based on the original story, but we reimagined it. It's technologically modern, but at the same time keeping the classic tale that everybody knows. Lots of Easter eggs in the show that everybody definitely can relate to, but we've just taken it to another level of excitement, and we're excited for everybody to see it.
Kyle Kellams: If you're a director and you're dealing with actors on stage, they've got to hit their marks. If you're a choreographer, your dancers on stage have to adhere to your choreography. It's like — yeah, let's do all that, but let's just roll the dice a little bit more and put it on ice.
Wilfand: Exactly. I was like, let's just make it even more of a challenge. But the cool thing about that is it's something that people have really never seen before. Years ago there was a tour when the movie first came out, and there are a lot of Oz fans that remember that and come to the shows. Putting that extra element on top of it sets it apart. The experience is a mix of athleticism and storytelling, which is very rare to find.
Kellams: So are there flying monkeys?
Wilfand: There are flying monkeys. Two of them. At least two. And they're one of my favorite costumes in the show.
Kellams: You mentioned it's technologically advanced and fresh. What does that mean for a show?
Wilfand: Our show is all projection mapping, which is really neat. Say the lights are all on and you walk in and it's kind of a blank slate, but when the audience comes in and the lights are dim and our set's illuminated, you are transformed and taken to another world. And with the projection mapping, every scene and every set can change so quickly and so easily. Lots of that. Lots of special effects — I think we have over 25 special effect lights happening. Fog, smoke. I believe for your show, we're lighting the ice on fire. There's a lot going on.
Kellams: So this is a tour, meaning you go to different rinks, which might be different sizes or have different entryways or different ways to hang lights. How do you coordinate that?
Wilfand: We do a lot of advancing. Before the show happens, about two or three weeks before, we'll talk to every venue, kind of get the lay of the land. But of course, once we get into the venue, it's always different. We're on our feet and we're flexible. If something doesn't hang or the light doesn't hang, we find another way to utilize it. That's kind of what our company is known for — we're adaptable. With the fire, there are specific venues that we do that in and there are some that we don't, but we have a fire juggler and we actually do a ring of fire on the ice, which is amazing.
Kellams: I know that for the Jones Center, there is on-ice seating.
Wilfand: Yes, which makes it even cooler — no pun intended. You're so close to the action. It's so intimate. The cast will play with the people on the on-ice seating. It's really cool to be that close to the action.
Kellams: I saw — and this of course happens in competitive skating as well — where someone is holding up another member of the cast. That's impressive in itself, but you've got to remember your cast member's shoes at the bottom have things that could really do damage if you're not careful.
Wilfand: Correct. This is how I describe it to everybody: they're skating on kitchen knives on ice cubes. It's skating — anything can happen. But our teams are so well trained and professional. I've never seen anything, knock on wood, major happen. The boys are strong lifting the girls. It is quite daring, though, for sure.
Kellams: Do you skate?
Wilfand: I used to. Yes, I skate — everybody asks me if I skate and I'm like, I used to, but yes I do.
Kellams: For those of us who don't — what is it like when you're on the ice doing these kinds of maneuvers?
Wilfand: The honest truth is, imagine a bright light just shining in your eyes while you're just hoping for the best. You go up and you rotate in the air, and we're all trained — muscle memory — so you know you can land. But you're skating fast, and acting and singing at the same time. It's a feat, and it's amazing for people to see.
Kellams: And the costumes?
Wilfand: The costumes are definitely the biggest talk of the town whenever we do a show. These costumes were designed in France. I think we have over 100,000 Swarovski crystals on these costumes. It's the Wizard of Oz — you've got to give the glamour. The Emerald City costumes are personally my favorite. They're at another level of elegance and modern. But yes, everybody loves it. And something to add — Toto this year is actually an animatronic ice-skating puppet. He gets quite the reaction in the show as well. It's pretty neat.
Alex Wilfand is producer of Wizard of Oz on Ice, which is coming to the Jones Center in Springdale Saturday, April 25. Performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. More information at thejonescenter.org.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
