New twist on "The Wizard of Oz" on display in "El Otro Oz" at Atlantic Stage 2 in Chelsea
NEW YORK -- This story is about the power of live theater to help kids better understand their communities and culture.
The latest production from Atlantic for Kids puts a new musical twist on "The Wizard of Oz."
Dora is her name -- not Dorothy -- In "El Otro Oz."
Audiences are whisked away to an alternate Oz, with a soundtrack of salsa, merengue, and Mexican folk music, and it's bilingual.
Kids fill the audience, like third grader Lucy Jones.
"I think everyone would love to see it," she said.
When CBS New York first met Dora, she was at odds with her Mexican heritage, but by the end she was perfectly in tune with it. The director, Melissa Crespo, said she can relate to that.
"This material is what I wish I had when I was a little girl. We want to see ourselves on stage," Crespo said.
"It's funny. It's fun. It's entertaining," Atlantic for Kids artistic director Alison Beatty said.
Atlantic for Kids is partnering with the Department of Education to provide filed trips for more than 1,500 students to see "El Otro Oz."
"After our first show, a mom and a teacher came up to me to thank me, essentially, and say my son doesn't wanna speak Spanish at home, and after the show I turned to him and said, 'You want to speak Spanish?' And he nodded his head," Beatty said.
"I think the message is represent your family," Lucy said, "and how we celebrate traditions."
"El Otro Oz" is playing at the Atlantic Stage 2 theater on West 16th Street. The show runs through Feb. 18.
