Often touring with performances and workshops for families and children, Reichlin has packed houses in 7 states with her narrated work adapted from the book The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. The work is a magical & modern-day fable that includes vivid costumes, interaction, music and multimedia sets. The Land of Oz comes to life with dazzle and spectacular dance.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz can also include 26 children from your community. Revised in 2016, Program C has a simplified cast & tech from the original + just 2 projectors.
The multi-ethnic cast performs ten fantastical dances, woven together with multimedia, music, and narration that help tell the story. Although the original book was written in 1913, its values, emphasizing cooperation, family, friendship, forgiveness, respect for all life and ultimately self-reliance, are still important more than 100 years later.
This show is perfect for parents and children to attend together. While younger viewers will be delighted by the magical world of Oz and Ojo’s adventures, adults will find sophisticated dance, music, and multimedia imagery most fulfilling. The Patchwork Girl of Oz also includes the possibility of 26 dance participants from your community as part of this interactive production.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
(redesigned & re-edited shorter 50′ version)
An Interactive Dance Multimedia Theatre Piece
Direction, Choreography, Adaptation from the 1913 book by L. Frank Baum: Louise Reichlin
Costumes: Linda Borough
Traveling by Water Animation: Audri Phillips
Tin Woodman Video: Shinji Murakoshi
Act 1 animation: Richard Wainess & his USC multimedia class
Video editing: Andrew Zutta
Stage characters Created through improvisations by Reichlin & the Orig. Dancers
Premier: Children’s Theater Festival/ Super Saturday
Tryon Fine Arts Center, Tryon, NC 28782
3/19/2016
6 Original Dancers & Narrator this version:
Coree McKee: The Patchwork Girl
Kirby Harrell: The Scarecrow, The Crooked Magician
Kistina Pressler: Dorothy Gale, The Glass Cat
Glenn Rodriquez: Ojo
Linnea Snyderman: Dame Margolotte, Glinda, Princess Ozma, Chief Hip Hopper
Tai White: Unc Nunkie, Shaggy Man, Sldier, Tin Man
Louise Reichlin: Narrator
Information about the original version of Patchwork Girl of Oz is in Past Repertory.
Press Quotes
"It's a credit to Louise Reichlin and Dancers that the artistic director-choreographer would have the courage to update a classic by the author of The Wizard of Oz and ... get away with it. Bonnets off to Reichlin, then, and her hard-working troupe on their take on the lesser-known L. Frank Baum story The Patchwork Girl of Oz …colorful costumes pleased and there was a certain naive quality that grabbed at the heart... a lot going on choreographically to sate a dance lover's appetite--sunny leaps and marching motifs prevailed… jubilant dancing." A two-part multimedia program performed Sunday at USC's Alfred Newman Recital Hall."
"You touched the lives of 2,480 people from the Casper area with your excellence."
"The choreography uses a wonderfully playful approach...along with sophisticated multimedia... the music a delightful surprise, lively, a bit exotic, and an excellent combination of Eastern and Western influences."
"I was thrilled to present The Patchwork Girl of Oz at two of our performing arts centers in June! The show has such a broad appeal and has attracted local dance enthusiasts as well as families.
Gallery
Video
From showcase at Jazz at Lincoln Center
General excerpts
Current version at Mark Taper Auditorium