By Natalie Forster, Features Assignment Editor
Students, parents and staff flocked to the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts for the spring SBU Hip-Hop show, Journey to Oz. The hip-hop team performed on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m., selling out on Wednesday.
The team had been wanting to perform The Wizard of Oz for a while, and they were quick to decide on it for this semester.
“This is something we’ve been talking about for a little over a year,” said Colleen Corrado, a junior biology major and team captain. “After we finished Willy Wonka, the captains were trying to think of another show…and we had people to fit the parts, so we figured, ‘Let’s just do it.”’
Based on the Frank Baum book and 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” Journey to Oz followed young Dorothy, played by Sarah Rose Koning, a junior education major, and her dog, Toto, played by Andrew Hayn, a junior journalism major, who end up being caught in a twister that sends them from their home to the middle of nowhere.
The house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, and the Wicked Witch of the West, played by Michelle Beckett-Ansa, a senior biological psychology major, comes out to try and steal her sister’s magical red shoes. Glenda the Good Witch, played by childhood literacy graduate student Katelynn Brown, steals the shoes away, though, and puts them on Dorothy without her realizing. Glenda then tells Dorothy that the only way she can go home is by meeting the Wizard of Oz, played by Ty Holmes, a senior marketing major, in Emerald City, and Dorothy, being homesick, quickly sets out to find the wizard.
Along the way, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, played by Corrado; Tinman, played by Peter Bertoldo, a general business graduate student; and Lion, played by Brooke Astley, a senior sociology and marketing double major. Each character joins Dorothy after deciding that they each need something only the wizard can provide: Scarecrow wants a brain, Tinman desires a heart and Lion craves courage.
Throughout the whole show, the Wicked Witch of the West continues to torment Dorothy, trying to kill her and get the shoes for herself. At one point, the witch tries to put her and her friends to a permanent sleep using poppies, but to no avail. They make it to Emerald City, where the wizard tells them that he’ll grant their wishes if they bring back the Wicked Witch of the West’s broomstick.
There is a large showdown dance scene between Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West, and Dorothy ends up killing the witch by ruining her foundation. She takes the broom to the wizard and finds out that the wizard has been a fake all along. He does help her, though, by telling her the way to return home is by clicking her red shoes together three times, saying, “There’s no place like home.”
The show was personalized to St. Bonaventure in many ways, including Dorothy’s home. Instead of her house being in Kansas, Dorothy calls a townhouse at St. Bonaventure home. The show makes other references to St. Bonaventure, such as drinking at The Burton bar and joking about Safety and Security’s driving service, saying, “They’ll never show up.”
The team also modernized the classic book and movie, referencing internet resources, such as Google Maps and Craigslist, where the characters got the spray that killed the Wicked Witch of the West. They also mentioned modern products, such as Red Bull.
The dances were all intricate and high energy, as in the team’s previous performances. The songs ranged from a laid-back cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to the original munchkin song, less known Ed Sheeran songs and even reggae-rap “16 Shots” by Stefflon Don. They shared the stage with members of Asian Students in Action (ASIA), which performed a crystal ball-inspired performance, and SBU’s breakdancing team, which played the Wicked Witch of the West’s evil, flying monkeys.
The show was a hit, with the audience laughing at each joke and clapping after every performance. The tap dance scene got the biggest applause.
“I thought the show was really well done,” said Tori Wangler, a freshman professional and creative writing major. “There was really versatile dancing. It was engaging with the audience [and] the hour and a half really flew by, jammed-packed [with] action…the dancing was phenomenal and I could tell they put in a lot of hard work.”
Being the last performance of the school year, it was the last night some of the dancers would perform as Bonaventure students, including Beckett-Ansa and Brown.
“It’s really bittersweet,” said Brown. “I think the girls did amazing with the show, the best they could do, but it’s really hard being my last year. I think the girls will do amazing and I’m really excited for them.”
The team is looking forward to next year, unsure of what their next performance will be. They hope for new talent and that their current talents will continue to flourish.
“The hip-hop team is so welcoming,” said Brown. “It’s more like a dance team, so if you ever wanted to do dance or were interested in it, be willing to join. It’s such a nice family environment where everyone is so welcoming and everyone’s able to make friends, so I think it’s amazing.”
