University of Michigan's 'Our Oz' Reimagines a Classic with a Trans Lion and a Queer Cast
'Our Oz' celebrates identity in updated adaptation of the L. Frank Baum classic
Actors are often asked to leave behind their own identities and lose themselves in a character of someone else’s creation.
But at the University of Michigan (UM), professors José Casas and Jake Hooker are flipping the script. They are asking their students and actors to bring their own identities and experiences to the forefront as they collaboratively create the roles and storylines for "Our Oz" — a reimagining of "The Wizard of Oz" through a BIPOC and queer lens. The production will be performed at 8 p.m. on April 4 at the Arthur Miller Theatre.
“We’ve been introducing kids to a very chaotic and frenetic process where we’re asking them to ‘bring yourself, bring your identities,'” Casas told Pride Source. “This is one of those chances where, as actors, we’re literally asking them to be a part of that creative process.”
Since L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” debuted over a century ago, the story has been told and retold in many mediums. The Judy Garland film in 1939 became an instant classic. Fifty years ago, “The Wiz” landed on Broadway and then the 1978 film of the same name, starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne, became a cult classic. In 2003, “Wicked” became a generation’s gateway to musical theater with the first half of a film version coming out just last year.
“Our Oz” embraces the tropes and images from all those renditions while devising something new and experimental with a nod to Thorton Wilder’s “Our Town.”
Jonas Annear, a UM communications student who recently added performing arts management to his studies to pursue a dual degree, plays the Lion. The story was one that had played a ubiquitous role in his early life. He watched the Golden Age movie throughout his childhood, fell in love with “Wicked” and played the Scarecrow in a high school production. Even so, it didn’t top his list of favorite stories.
“I have a pretty neutral feeling toward it,” Annear said. “It’s very classic and it’s very ‘done,’ but this specific version really jumped at me because it was taking really understandable tropes and characters that people are able to easily recognize, but giving it fresh writing and meaning.”
Casas said “The Wiz” was a major influence for him, in large part because of its political undertones and the way it addressed its current environment. He wanted “Our Oz” to do the same. In “Our Oz,” Dorothy is a queer woman of color, the Tin Man is a Tin Woman who doesn’t speak, the Scarecrow is Chicano and the Lion is trans.
“We see their identities and we celebrate those identities,” Casas said. “We want them to be proud of who they are. As they bring in those things from their identities, we hope that informs those characters and how they react to the Oz around them.”
Casa said that as a straight, cis male, it is important to him that people who belong to queer communities are telling the story so that it is true and authentic.
“We celebrate these bodies because Oz should be for everyone,” Casas said.
Annear said that from the very beginning of the process — back when they were doing workshops last semester — Casas was clear that what he was providing was a template or an outline.
“It was just waiting for us to fill it up with our own voices,” Annear said. “The character of the Lion has gone through a bunch of different drafts. The role was originally a trad goth kind of character, but when José cast me, he said that’s not what we want. We want a version that looks similar to how you present and how you interact with gender.”
Annear said that “Our Oz” took shape around the identities that the actors brought to the roles.
The play opens with Toto as an “Our Town"-style narrator. Dorothy, played by Isabel Contreras, is experiencing a hardcore migraine. She is a queer woman of color living in the Midwest who doesn’t feel at home and finds her surroundings to be dreary.
“By the time she gets back, she recognizes it is not home to her, that she has to find her tribe and find the home that really accepts her,” Casas said. “She comes back with the recognition that her home is out there, it’s just not where it was when she began. She had to go to Oz to learn this isn’t where she belongs and she shouldn’t force herself into this space.”
Casa said he was adamant about the Lion being trans.
“We’re living in a world where coming out as trans is enough to get you killed, especially if you are a trans person of color,” Casas said. “Someone is brave to say, ‘This is who I am, and either accept me or don’t.’ That, to me, is courage. So when we talk about the Lion, it’s bringing in the idea of accepting and being brave, even though you shouldn’t have to be.”
Annear, who described his identity as constantly evolving and not defined by traditional gender roles, said that he, Hooker and Casas explored how to make the Lion’s story a non-traditional coming out piece that explores multiple layers of gender.
“The hope is that we bring to this character something really fresh and authentic so that it doesn’t feel like every other coming out story,” Annear said. “We don’t want it at all to feel basic. I’ve been really happy to bring my experiences and my own personal relationship with gender to the role to find a way to tell a story that’s quite authentic.”
Today’s political situation, including attacks on trans people from the federal government, has made this work take on increased importance. Casas said they’re encouraging students to be collaborative creators who can tackle the world’s problems on the stage.
“We’re really trying to build a safe space and a vulnerable space so that the kids feel like they can express themselves,” Casas said.
He said Contreras, who is a queer woman of color from Indiana, told him that she still struggles with her identity and that this production has gone beyond simply playing a role.
Casas said Contreras told him she wants to grow as an actress, but that "because Dorothy is a queer woman of color and I have to make sense of her world, I hope this is one of those spaces that offers me a place of healing."
And that, Casas said, is why the university does work like “Our Oz.” It's a journey that is more than just reimagining a classic — it is laying claim to representation, resistance and self-expression. By centering BIPOC and queer identities, the team at UM is attempting to create a world that is wide enough for all.
“Our Oz” is a declaration that everyone belongs on the yellow brick road.
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