Ease on Down the Road

I just came from the opening night cast party of "The Wiz" at the Liberty Theatre.

I thought when the Liberty did it two years ago that it was a great show. I think it's even better this time around.

Samantha Daniels, whom we all call Dionne, was born to sing "Home," the final song of the show. She is that good.

But so are Antonio Lawrence (the Lion), Ometrise Richmond (Tinman) and Walter J. Whelchel (Scarecrow).

Those four are really, really good. As are the other principals: Elizabeth Reeves (Aunt Em), Cheryl Johnson (Addaperle), T.J. Abner (The Wiz) and T'Nesha Pruitt (Glinda). Special kudos go to the wonderful Sylvia Wilson, who plays Evilene. I've met her and she's nothing like the Wicked Witch. But she sure does have a great snarl.

My good friend Lorenzo Battle always knows how to hog the stage. I swear in the scene where he's Evilene's lackey, you end up watching him doing his schtick onstage.

Director Eddie Stiles' Yellow Brick Road is wonderfully creative. You're gonna love it.

If there's a fault with this production, it's the fact that the chorus doesn't sing. They dance beautifully, but they don't sing. So there are five singers at the left of the stage who do all the singing. Doesn't make any sense to me.

I've been in shows where we're dancing and singing. When I did "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" a couple of years ago, we were huffing and puffing at certain times because we were dancing all over the stage singing as we danced.

But that's a small quibble. Another is the sound problem, which isn't that bad because the Liberty is not that big a space. And those voices on that stage are huge. Antonio's mike didn't work all night, but we could hear him OK.

Eddie, who keeps saying he doesn't direct musicals, has done a fine job with this one.

And one more thing: Toto is a doll. He's a 3-year-old Yorkie trained by Christopher Taylor Hicks, an eighth grader at Harris County Middle School. Sir Rockefeller Hicks is his name, but he goes by Rocky. Good job, Rocky. And Chris, too.

You have two chances to see this great show -- 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10-$18. Call 706-653-7566.

You won't regret it if you go. If you don't, you'll regret it because everyone will be talking about the show.