INTERVIEW: Denis Jones finds his way to ‘Oz’
Photo: Cashing Rainbows stars Ruby Rakos as Frances Gumm, who would later become Judy Garland, star of The Wizard of Oz. Photo courtesy of Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade / Provided by Richard Hillman PR with permission.
Director-choreographer Denis Jones is at the helm of the new musical Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz, starring Ruby Rakos as a young Judy Garland before the movie star hit it big as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. The musical plays through Oct. 27 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey.
“I became attached about two-and-a-half years ago,” said Jones, who has also choreographed Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn, Tootsie and Honeymoon in Vegas on Broadway. “There had been some previous productions with some different creative teams prior to my involvement, and I came on board the project as a choreographer, which then led to a developmental lab that we did in New York. And since then I have become the director and the choreographer. It’s a musical that I really believe in. I think it’s beautifully crafted and obviously is a fascinating story to tell, so I’m very pleased to be part of the Chasing Rainbows family.”
That Chasing Rainbows family includes Marc Acito (book), David Libby (additional music and orchestrations), Larry Blank (orchestrations) and Tina Marie Casamento (conceiver and additional lyrics). On stage, joining Rakos, are Max Von Essen, Lesli Margherita, Karen Mason, Stephen DeRosa, Michael Wartella and Colin Hanlon. The show keeps the company on its toes, sometimes literally.
“There is quite a bit of dance in it,” Jones said. “Most of Judy Garland’s career, certainly on film and on stage as well, the bulk of her work was in movie musicals, so we felt that part of the experience of telling her story should include a dance element that celebrates the styles of dance that were in her movies. It is all original choreography, but it is meant to evoke that era.”
This story doesn’t look at Garland’s primetime as a movie star and concert legend. Instead, it imagines life before Judy, when she was known as Frances Gumm and worked the vaudeville circuit. This part of the actor’s life was new to Jones.
“I did have to do a lot of research because I was not familiar with the backstory,” he said. “I mean I have been a fan of Judy Garland’s since as far back as I can remember via seeing Wizard of Oz on television and seeing many of her films on television. I’ve been a fan my whole life, but knew actually very little about her childhood and was more familiar with events that happened later in her life, but actually knew very little of her beginnings and her family. So, yes, it did involve quite a bit of research. We have an amazing consultant on the show, John Fricke, who is the knower of all things Judy Garland. He’s written books on her and is incredibly knowledgeable about her life, so we’re very fortunate to have him on hand. He’s a wealth of knowledge.”
Jones was particularly excited to have the audience experience the musical chops of Rakos, who is a native of Long Hill, New Jersey. She has been on Broadway in Billy Elliot and regionally in The House on the Hill and former iterations of Chasing Rainbows.
“She’s dynamite,” the director said. “Wait until you see her. She’s exceptionally talented, and although we don’t try to do an impersonation of Judy Garland — it’s not that kind of show — the power that Ruby has is very, very similar to that of Judy Garland. What a voice. Wait until you hear it.”
The show also touches upon issues that are unfortunately still prevalent in today’s entertainment industry. It may be set decades ago and deal with a movie-star-in-training, but Chasing Rainbows proves quite timely.
“I think certainly we’re still in a culture that struggles with issues of body image and body shaming,” Jones said. “What is so powerful about this chapter in her life that we examine is really she, against all odds, was against a system that did not think that she was the right size or did not feel that she had the conventional good looks that a young movie star should have. Against all that, she broke through and became a huge star, so, yes, I do think that there are some very timeless lessons within her story.”
Jones has been interested in theater ever since he was a child, but he doesn’t know where a love for this particular art form comes from. His parents exposed him to theater a young age, and perhaps he simply absorbed it more than other forms of entertainment and escape.
“From when I was a little kid, I was directing all the neighborhood kids in plays in my backyard that I also starred in,” Jones said. “My love of theater actually predates memory because my mother will reference some play or something that I did as a kid, and I don’t even really remember it. I don’t really know where that came from. I grew up in San Francisco, and both of my parents were not in any way involved in show business. They were enthusiasts, if you will. They liked to go to the theater and certainly took my brother and I to see a lot of theater, but beyond that I couldn’t really tell you where it came from. It was just always what I wanted to do.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz, directed and choreographed by Denis Jones, is now playing the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.
