The Wizard of Oz

…The result, on all counts, is a Broadway-worthy show of grand scale and exceptional imagination – a production that spins onto the stage with the force of the cyclone (even if some insist the proper term is tornado) that knocks out Kansas farm girl Dorothy Gale just long enough for her to take a scary but fantastical journey to the Land of Oz and Emerald City.

…In shaping the musical “Wizard of Oz” for Aurora’s massive Paramount Theatre, director/choreographer Amber Mak and music director Kory Danielson go for broke. Between the cyclone and the Emerald City and the battalion of flying monkey/cow/cyclist puppets, it’s pretty clear that the Paramount’s special-effects budget could probably rival those of the classic film.