(Professional Utilization of Puppetry for Performance and Entertainment Techniques)
I am Oz, the Great and Terrible! – L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Here we go again! I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve done Wizard of OZ since I moved to Grand Rapids, I suppose that’s a perk of living in Judy Garland’s birthplace. But our show this year will be bigger and better than ever! This will be the first time that Reif Theater Arts will do the full-length version!
“I have done the Young Performers Edition of the Wizard of Oz several times before. With the increase in our cast sizes, I was worried that there would not be enough opportunity to highlight all my amazing students with the shorter script. I made the upgrade to the full-length version of the show after we had 86 kids performing in the Lion King last fall. This added extra scenes like the Poppies and Snowflakes and made the songs longer, including several dance breaks! These kids have worked so hard and have risen to the occasion!”
-Katie Smith, Reif Theater Arts Director
I’m excited to add more scenery, including an expanded Munchkin Land, Witch’s Castle and OZ Chamber. I’m especially enthusiastic about the OZ head puppet that Greg Johnson has designed and built. The last time we did Wizard of OZ we projected the image of the head onto a scrim, then had cast members shake the bottom of the scrim to make it ripple when OZ got angry!
Theater and puppets have gone together since time immemorial. Shadow puppets, rod puppets, hand puppets, marionettes, sock puppets and full-sized puppets – puppets are big business! Here are just a few recent Broadway productions that rely on puppetry to bring their stories to life!
The Lion King, 1997-Present
The most successful Broadway show of all time features over 200 puppets designed by its director Julie Taymar. The Lion King makes use of rod, shadow and full-sized puppets to bring the African savannah to life.
– 17,000 hours were spent constructing the original puppets
– A 20-person team is responsible for puppet care and upkeep
– “Bertha” the elephant is 13 feet long, 12 feet high and 9 feet wide and requires four performers
Avenue Q, 2003-2009
Tony Award winning Best Musical of 2004, Avenue Q is not Sesame Street! But like Sesame Street, most of the puppets are hand puppets along with two rod puppets.
– 26 puppets (15 performance, 11 practice)
– The most complex puppets require over 100 hours of work
– Some of the puppets are valued at over $10,000
Hand to God, 2015-2016
One of the more unique Broadway productions of 2015 was this quirky and irreverent comedy featuring a sock puppet possessed by Satan!
– Three sock puppets feature, along with many spares
– One reviewer recommended it for those who consider Avenue Q too tame
– Steven Boyer received a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his dual role as inverted teen and foul-mouthed sock puppet.
Life of Pi, 2023
Based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel and the 2012 Ang Lee film, Life of Pi features a puppet tiger bringing its extraordinary survival story to life. Life of Pi uses life size puppets to portray a zebra, orangutan, hyena and a Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker.
– Due to the physical demands of the role, a team of 8 puppeteers rotate for the three puppeteers required to operate Richard Parker
– Over 300 hours of work go into constructing Richard Parker
– The puppets are designed to look as if they were made from driftwood
– Tony Award winner for Best Scenic Design, Lighting Design and Sound Design for a play
King Kong, 2018-2019
A financial flop, King Kong was praised for its spectacular ape puppet, but criticized for its lack of dramatic substance, failing to recoup its 36.5 million production expense. King Kong was 20 feet tall, weighed over 2500 pounds and used animatronics and marionette puppetry to bring the giant ape to life!
– A team of 13 performers were required to operate King Kong
– After years of development the puppet took 8 months to build
– Contains 16 microprocessors, 16,000 connection and 1000 feet of electrical cable
– Too large to fit in the wings of the theater, Kong was lifted above the stage by a 17-ton crane when not needed
War Horse, 2011-2013
War Horse, adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s novel, is a play about a young man, Albert, and his beloved horse, Joey, during World War I. War Horse is known for its powerful storytelling, innovative puppetry, and anti-war themes.
– Requires three puppeteers: Head, Heart and Hind.
– Though light weight, the puppets can support a rider
– Realism achieved through 20 different working joints
Reif Theater Arts Presents: The Wizard of OZ, 2026
Greg Johnson likes to sink his teeth into a difficult set piece, and he accepted the challenge of creating our Wizard of OZ puppet head.
Greg Johnson –
“I’ve been involved in a few Wizard of Oz productions over the years. I’ve seen many ways in which the wizard’s head is presented – a one-dimensional flat piece either flown or rolled in, a projection, or an animation.
During our production meeting, the idea of the wizard head bein’ a giant puppet was brought up. That sounded fun and challenging! After a bit of research, I drew up some crude plans for a wizard head that is 4 feet wide and 7 feet tall – with a mouth that moves! I showed my plans to our local puppet expert, John Schroeder, for his advice. He said one alteration to make the mouth move better is all that is needed.
About a week before I was gettin’ ready to build the head, our former set builder, Buzz McCulloch, was at the Reif. I showed him my plans for the wizard head and mentioned I was makin’ the head out of foam. As soon as he heard that, he asked me what time he could be there to help. He loves workin’ with foam and has created a lot of amazing set pieces usin’ foam, so it wasn’t too surprising when he asked to help. I let Buzz take the lead on the foam part of the head while I focused on the mechanics of makin’ the puppet work, and building the ginormous unit the puppet is attached to.
I can’t wait to see the puppeteers bring the Wizard to life!”
Thanks Greg! Every time I walk into the scene shop the Wizard head gets bigger and bigger, I swear by the time the show opens it will be 14-15 feet tall!
Reif Theater Arts presents The Wizard of Oz for one weekend only, March 27-29. Get your tickets early!