For my final entry, I will explore my visit to the city of Brighton, a whimsical seaside town with a bit of edge, spunk, and a lot of old timey charm. As I wandered through the streets with "By the Sea" from Sweeney Todd stuck in my head, I thought about all of the other worldly experiences I've had this year emerging from lockdown. Looking at the Royal Pavilion, an ornate and playfully designed building heavily influenced by Indian architecture, the street art and antique markets, the pier with its amusement park reminiscent of Coney Island and Santa Monica, I truly thought about how fortunate I am to be able to find joy and engagement with the world during this time. As I stumbled upon this piece of street art, honoring July Garland with the text "there's no place like Brighton" I thought about the gratitude that is the final theme of The Wizard of Oz: there's no place like home, and we should be thankful for the experiences and family around us. As I finish the London chapter of the MMK, I feel truly blessed to be able to strengthen my creativity muscles as I broaden my experience.
The Production:
Sometimes adaptations are the most creative because of the way they reinterpret stories that
feel eternal. The Wizard of Oz will be adapted to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic, where a young, depressed girl in lockdown gets transported to another world during a tornado warning in her midwestern home. That world is the world that Dorothy gets sent to in the Wizard of Oz, but it is heavily influenced by the world of Brighton: The Wizard lives in an Oz that is reminiscent of the Royal Pavilion, the Scarecrow is decked out in vintage clothing and the Tin Man is made out of rollercoaster parts. The music is in the style of British rock and roll that was the soundtrack of Brighton. In the end, as our heroine realizes there is no place like home, she too realizes how lucky she is and decides to recklessly pursue joy as she closes the show with a dazzling musical number about gratitude.
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