WASHINGTON — Judy Garland famously said, “There’s no place like home.”
But for Sarah Lasko of Rockville, Maryland, it’s a true homecoming as she plays Dorothy Gale in the U.S. national tour of “The Wizard of Oz,” which hits D.C.’s National Theatre from May 3-15.
“WTOP, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Lasko joked.
Growing up in Montgomery County, “Oz” was a huge deal for Lasko, who says she was 4 years old when she was scarred for life by the Flying Monkeys in Victor Fleming’s 1939 Hollywood classic.
“My first memory of watching any movie is ‘Wizard of Oz,’ I had a poster of ‘Wizard of Oz,’ we had a giant limited edition pillow of ‘Wizard of Oz,’ and I loved Judy Garland,” Lasko said.
“It’s so timeless. I feel like it’s my grandma’s movie, it’s my mom’s movie, it’s my movie. We all watch it when we’re kids. … I’m definitely going to indoctrinate my children into ‘Wizard of Oz.'”
You might say her entire life has been one big Yellow Brick Road building to this moment.
At age 13, Lasko began acting in community theatres, including the Rockville Musical Theatre, the Sandy Spring Theatre Group and the Rockville Civic Ballet at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre.
“I feel like I’ve been raised by the community,” Lasko said.
From age 14-20, she performed in shows at Montgomery Community College, including “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Ragtime.” After graduating from Rockville High School, she transferred from Montgomery Community College to the University of Maryland in College Park.
She performed on campus in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, while also working nearby at the Keegan Theatre and the Kennedy Center, where she danced with the National Symphony Orchestra Christmas Pops with the late Marvin Hamlisch.
“I think we were on his Christmas card because we were all dressed as Rockettes,” Lasko said.
Her time at the University of Maryland also allowed her to perform with Barbara Cook, the Tony-winning star of the original Broadway cast of “The Music Man” (1957).
But it was YouTube videos that took her to the next step, particularly two performances of “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid” and “Green Finch and the Linnet Bird” from “Sweeney Todd.”
“I happened to like posting YouTube covers of songs,” Lasko said. “An agent in New York, it happened to land on his desk, and he called me up to audition. So I moved to New York and signed with him.”
After toiling in various theatres across New York City, she landed the role of Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” in May 2015. She started rehearsals in October and has been touring since December in her first ever national tour, including Denver, Portland, San Diego, Cleveland, Boston and Buffalo.
“It’s been great. I’ve been able to travel across the U.S., which is exciting for me because I have never been to the West Coast,” Lasko admitted.
Night in and night out, she never tires of Dorothy’s journey.
“My favorite thing to do on stage now is also one of my favorite parts of the movie, which is when Dorothy meets the three friends when she’s on the Yellow Brick Road. I love that part,” Lasko said.
The Scarecrow — and his Kansas alter-ego Hunk — are both played by Morgan Reynolds, a 7-year alum of The Walt Disney Company.
“I had a friend come in Boston to see the show and she was like, ‘He looks like he doesn’t have a spine! How does he do it?'” Lasko said. “He’s so lovable, he’s so funny … he’s a major highlight of the show.”
The Tin Man — and his Kansas alter-ego Hickory — are both played by Jay McGill, who hails from West Virginia Public Theatre.
“His Tin Man is kind of a superman with a heart of gold — a nonexistent heart of gold,” Lasko said.
The Cowardly Lion — and his Kansas alter-ego Zeke — are both played by Aaron Fried, who has experience in national tours after “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “The Addams Family” and “Grease.”
“When he gets on stage is when the audience really starts laughing and applauding,” Lasko said.
As for The Wizard/Professor Marvel, actor Mark A. Harmon brings his national tour experience from “Mamma Mia” and “Hairspray” to create the show’s mysterious title character.
“When he comes onto the scene, it’s a very imposing scene, so I think it’s pretty shocking,” Lasko said.
Parents, don’t worry about the frights. Young kids should be able to handle it, as actress Shani Hadjian plays a more musical, comedic version of Miss Gulch and The Wicked Witch of the West.
“I have friends who have little kids and they’re always like, ‘Oh, is she too scary?’ But I like our witch because she’s definitely menacing, but I think she’s really funny, too,” Lasko said. “I don’t think she’s Margaret Hamilton like ‘terrify your 3-year-olds, make them have nightmares’ kind of scary.”
Rachel Womble plays her bubbly counterpart Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
“Our Glinda is very different looking. She doesn’t have the pink, poofy dress. Her dress is actually total Swarovski crystal-encrusted from top to bottom,” Lasko said. “She doesn’t come in like Billie Burke exactly, but she does come in a pretty spectacular way. I’ll leave that as a surprise.”
You’ll find no spoilers here for Glinda’s arrival, but the transition from Kansas to Oz is indeed magical.
“Everything in Kansas is sepia-toned, so it’s all browns and creams and a really basic palette, monochromatic,” Lasko said. “When you get to Oz, all the sudden it’s bright colors. Even the flowers on the bushes are fluorescent, UV lights, so it’s pretty bright. I think it’s quite a massive change.”
For the rest of the show, all bets are off with endless possibilities for visual effects.
“Our Yellow Brick Road turns 360. … There’s a beautiful rainbow that covers the top of the set … Emerald City is sparkly and green,” Lasko said. “They did a really seamless way of using digital projections for the tornado. … The witch’s broom spouts green fire, the Tin Man’s spout explodes, there’s a lot of special effects that are really wonderful. And we have a dog, which is awesome.”
Dorothy’s doggy Toto is trained by legendary Tony-winning animal trainer Bill Berloni, who recently stopped by WTOP to discuss his niche career path of turning shelter dogs into Broadway stars.
“Nigel is our star and Loki is the understudy,” Lasko said. “They’re both so lovable, and I feel like people leave and they’re like, ‘Wow, the things that dog would do!’ What’s really exciting is I don’t feel like Toto is doing tricks per se, he’s really playing the character. So when I’m singing ‘Over the Rainbow,’ he’s sitting on a hay bail with me and just gazing adoringly, and it’s just adorable to watch.”
Speaking of “Over the Rainbow,” everyone’s favorite part of “Oz” is, of course, the legendary music. The movie has become such a part of our pop-culture lexicon that you might forget that it is indeed a musical filled with show tunes. The stage musical features all your old favorites: “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” “If I Only Had a Brain” and the various versions of “We’re Off to See The Wizard.”
“We retain most of the songs from the movie … but we do have four new songs written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice,” Lasko said. “The Wicked Witch doesn’t have a song [in the film, but] she gets a really big song [on stage]. It’s called ‘Red Shoes Blues.’ Professor Marvel has a song, Glinda has a really beautiful song, but other than that, the songs and a lot of the lines are straight from the film.”
The Webber and Rice songs are woven between the famous Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg songs from the movie. The book was originally adapted by Webber and Jeremy Sams for London’s West End in 2011, before moving to Toronto in 2012, then launching the North American tour in 2013.
Which begs the pressing question: are the ruby slippers red like the 1939 movie, or silver like L. Frank Baum’s timeless 1900 book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?”
“It’s definitely ruby. … Beautiful, as sparkly from the balcony as they are in person, and very comfortable, surprisingly for heels,” Lasko said. “I love looking at the sparkles. … I’ve been telling everyone in the cast, ‘You have to go to American History [Museum] … ’cause the slippers are there!”
That’s right, Garland’s actual ruby slippers permanently reside at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, just blocks from where “The Wizard of Oz” is now playing at National Theatre.
Lasko recalls going to National Theatre growing up, making this experience especially exciting.
“I’ve seen shows there, but I’ve never performed there, so this is exciting. I think I’ll be a little misty on opening night for sure,” Lasko said. “My grandma has put together a group of people on a certain day. … We’ve done over 100 performances now and most of them, I haven’t known anyone in the audience. So there’s something extra special about having friends and family there to watch.”
Yes, looking around the audience at National Theatre, Lasko will point to her family and friends, saying, “It wasn’t a dream! It was a place. And you and you and you … and you were there! … But just the same, all I kept saying to everybody is, ‘I want to go home.’ And they sent me home!”
Welcome home to Washington, Sarah Lasko. There’s truly no place like it.
Click here for ticket information. Listen to the full interview with Sarah Lasko below:
