With the highly anticipated run of “Wicked” starting today (Sept. 25), we thought it would be fitting to get some of the inside scoop on this award-winning production from someone who knows it pretty well — Walker Jones, who plays the Wizard of Oz.
He has spent a lot of time on stage, including acting in such plays in New York City as “Scapin” with Stanley Tucci, “Merry Wives of Windsor” directed by Daniel Sullivan, “Merchant of Venice” and “Henri VI.” Regionally, he has performed in ACT, Portland Stop, Yale Rep, New Jersey Shakespeare Theatre and the Tony Award-winning Shakespeare Theatre of Washington D.C.
He trained in theater at Boston University and the Yale School of Drama.
I spoke with Jones on the phone during the play’s run in Oklahoma City about what people can expect from the show, what his character is all about and how power is an overriding theme in the production.
How would you describe the play to someone who has never seen it before?
When you see ‘Wicked’ for the first time, there is so much to take in. You have the extraordinary music; the lyrics; the story, itself; costumes; dancing; the set; and the lights — it’s just incredible, really. Almost, you can hardly absorb the whole thing in one viewing.
Can you talk a little bit more about your character and what your role is in the play?
I have the fortune to be playing the Wizard of Oz and when you hear the phrase ‘Wizard of Oz,’ everybody has a response to that and a lot of it has to do because many of us watching the classic film. With the character, there is a lot of build up and anticipation because you think, ‘Oh, my gosh, he’s the end-all, be-all, powerful, wise, loving and knowing being that is ruling this place’ because what you see in the original version, the 1939 film, is that he’s a very powerful human being. The wizard is all about the illusion of power and in our play, he’s a reflection of politicans. In several moments throughout the play, you get to see how the author has a wonderful perspective of how the people in power use their power to, in some ways, manipulate the masses.
And for me, who really has integrity? Playing the wizard, I’m still discovering who this character is because there are different ways of approaching him — a mastermind who is evil, or my personal feeling, which is that he has arrived by balloon to this place and really, he’s really interested in surviving because he is out of his element.
You talk a lot about power with your character. How is that played out with the other dominant characters?
In the world of ‘Wicked,’ you’ll see the whole question of power — what kind of power are we talking about? Green witch Elphaba has magical power, but then there’s Glinda, who has the power of popularity — the whole mean girl thing that goes on.
There is also the character of Fiyero, a handsome leading man who has the vitality of sexual power. Then we have me, the Wizard of Oz, and Madame Morrible who are actually political figures in the world of Oz. So, they’re vying and fighting to maintain this power through the illusion of the leadership and also through the press. Madama Morrible becomes a press secretary and you get to see at different points in the play how she sends out media notices about how bad the witch is even though the witch is actually a very good person.
For more information about the performances, click here.