{"id":13787,"date":"2018-09-29T08:20:12","date_gmt":"2018-09-29T15:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/Becomeimmersed.com\/?p=13787"},"modified":"2019-11-27T12:32:54","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T20:32:54","slug":"speakeasy-society-witch-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/speakeasy-society-witch-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Speakeasy Society Explores Regret and Revenge in “The Witch”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a review of The Speakeasy Society’s The Witch, with very\u00a0minor spoilers throughout.\u00a0 All photos courtesy of Model05 Productions. witch<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

It seems like it was just last month that I was sitting in a creaky church pew, watching The Speakeasy Society\u2019s The Vow<\/em><\/a> come to an anticipated, but nonetheless shocking cliffhanger.\u00a0 It was not so long ago, but things are moving quickly in The Kansas Collection<\/em><\/a>, leading up to a finale planned for early 2019.\u00a0 And so, on a windy, deserted block of ROW Downtown Los Angeles, we\u2019ve come to meet Glinda, The Witch,<\/em> for the sixth chapter in Speakeasy\u2019s compelling take on Frank Baum\u2019s Oz<\/em> series.<\/p>\n

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Unlike The Vow <\/em>before it, which featured the full Speakeasy ensemble leading guests on multiple tracks and sub tracks, The Witch <\/em>is perhaps the most straightforward presentation of the narrative of any previous Kansas<\/em> chapters\u2014a single track is laid, a single story told.\u00a0 This seemingly standard structure, however, is what makes The Witch<\/em> so successful; the brilliant performances of the small cast become the core heart of the piece.\u00a0 Actors Matthew Bamberg-Johnson, Natalie Fryman, and Chynna Skye move from strength to strength in a stirring tale of grief, betrayal, and hopefully, someday soon, vindication.<\/p>\n

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The quickest way to loss is love<\/em>, Glinda says at one point; it\u2019s a phrase that will\u00a0stick with me long after I leave this place. Even though I\u2019ve seen what Oz is becoming now that Queen Ozma is in control, I still wonder what\u2019s gone so wrong in Oz that Glinda, the historical representative of all that\u2019s right and true, has become so lost. Fryman\u2019s\u00a0talent here is palpable; she\u2019s the witch with no magic, and it\u2019s heartbreaking to see her growing further and further from the belief that she\u2019ll be able to help good triumph over evil.\u00a0 Her voice breaks, fraught with emotion, and yet every word is tinged with venom, as if she\u2019s speaking a curse; I think perhaps there\u2019s a spark of magic left in her, after all.<\/p>\n

Fryman\u2019s performance is bookended in The Witch<\/em> by those of Chynna Skye and Matthew Bamberg-Johnson as Lavender Pip and Phil Daring, respectively.\u00a0 Skye is a pleasure to behold, all rage and attitude; it\u2019s intriguing to see what the loss of her beloved Scarecrow in The Vow<\/em> has done to her, and more intriguing still to wonder what it may continue to do. In contrast, Bamberg-Johnson seems to represent the very heart of The Kansas Collection <\/em>as a whole; his journey thus far has been remarkable.\u00a0 It\u2019s Bamberg-Johnson\u2019s innate charm and empathy that\u2019s endeared Phil to audiences from their first interactions with him, and his work in The Witch<\/em> is no exception.\u00a0 Those who took the Red Track in The Vow <\/em>will particularly connect with Phil here\u2014a literal inner conflict is at hand within him, as it has been all this time, and watching it play out is riveting.<\/p>\n

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The Witch<\/em> represents yet another succinct, skillful addition to the Kansas Collection<\/em>, and is a welcome entry in an increasingly harrowing narrative with endless potential. Only a few more chapters remain in this now-beloved immersive theatre staple, and perhaps there\u2019s still hope for the good people of Oz yet, even though the world is dark.\u00a0 As Dorothy said in The Vow: <\/em> \u201cEvil always wins right up until the end, or it doesn\u2019t feel worth it.\u201d No matter what\u2019s to come, The Speakeasy Society\u2019s Kansas Collection<\/em> continues to be very much worth it.<\/p>\n

Tickets to The Witch <\/em>are no longer live, but may still be available<\/a>.\u00a0 To inquire please contact The Speakeasy Society on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, or via the contact link on their website.<\/a><\/p>\n

You can also read our all-track recap of The Vow <\/em>here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is a review of The Speakeasy Society’s The Witch, with very\u00a0minor spoilers throughout.\u00a0 All photos courtesy of Model05 Productions. witch It seems like it was just last month that I was sitting in a creaky church pew, watching The Speakeasy Society\u2019s The Vow come to an anticipated, but nonetheless shocking cliffhanger.\u00a0 It was…<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[80,43,22],"tags":[13562,5960,48,3586,44],"yst_prominent_words":[13527,13524,898,1488,705,689,4712,13523,295,5208,13530,13528,877,182,690,13540,13529,10859,7472,13526],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Natalie-The-Witch-Small.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbrPML-3An","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13787"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13787"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=13787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}