27157067
Playing one of the integral roles in "The Wizard of Oz" might seem like a fun gig for an actor. But for Robert Biedermann, being Professor Marvel (the man who poses as the mysterious title character) in the musical, which is touring more than 20 cities over nine months, it means a lot more.
Six years ago, in the midst of doing a stint in a different "Oz" production, the former South Philly resident was shot in the head while in his garage in Washington, D.C. Surviving a bullet to the jaw is a miracle in itself, but that he was back on stage two weeks later is evidence of Biedermann’s passion — and explains why this current tour is so special.
"I got shot, but I was still conscious and I literally walked to the ambulance. Two weeks later, I was back on stage saying to Dorothy, ‘Who might you be?,’" the actor recently recalled from his hotel room in Waterbury, Conn., where the show was performing over three days before moving on to Cincinnati. "That’s why this production is very important to me. That’s why this tour means everything to me."
Even without the jarring experience of living through a shot to the head, Biedermann’s journey to becoming one of the most recognized voices in the most famous of children’s stories is a unique one. Bouncing from being a math scholar to an actor to a naval officer, Biedermann has a dizzying amount of unlikely jobs to his credit, from teaching ballroom dancing to communications training to "Oz" as the one person who can give Dorothy the power to return home.
Moving to South Philadelphia from New Jersey with his family, Biedermann attended his last two years of high school at Southern, Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, where he learned to love the area’s traditions.
"When I come back, I always go to what I think of Philadelphia, which means go look at my high school, then it’s let’s go get cheesesteaks at Pat’s, let’s go get a cannoli at Termini Bros., let’s go see the Eagles … And that’s my Philadelphia," he said before adding he always visits the Schuylkill River to look at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and then across the tracks back to his former college campus, the University of Pennsylvania, where he began classes in 1968.
Although he wanted to study theater and art, he was attending Penn on an ROTC scholarship, "so that didn’t go over too well," he said with a laugh. Instead he majored in theoretical mathematics — quite a far cry from the dramatic arts. But he participated in the school’s Mask and Wig, a prestigious comedy group that is still in existence, and tried to do various theatrical productions.
"In 1972 I got a graduation present," he said, growing more serious, "which was a year in Vietnam."
The young mathematician/aspiring actor became a naval officer on the America and then time on another ship, the USS Little Rock.
His days of flip-flopping from military to arty continued when he was discharged. While teaching international ballroom dancing in D.C., he decided to be a flight attendant and get his graduate degree.
"So it was flying, going to school and living on a houseboat," he said, smiling as he recalled the twists and turns of his life. "And then I quit it all to do dinner theater."
That was the last time he would make a career switch, as he finally had planted his roots in his true passion: Acting.
"After all that, now I’m 58," he continued, "and I am the title character of a very large tour who hands out three make-believe presents that solve everybody’s problems."
Fulfilling his dream after a 30-year rocky journey, Biedermann now gets to return to Philadelphia, as "The Wizard of Oz" comes to town with its 22 cast members, nine musicians and five 18-wheeler trucks of props and stage devices later this month. Arriving just after Thanksgiving, the production is putting on three performances Nov. 28 to 30 at the Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.
Helmed by esteemed London director Nigel West, the production started in Gainesville, Fla., Oct. 10 and has been so popular thus far (stopping at various towns in Florida and Georgia) that they had to add extra performances. After leaving Philadelphia, the show is far from over, traveling through Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, New York, South Carolina, Arkansas, up and down the East Coast, and even stopping in Canada. Ironically, however, it skips over Kansas, Dorothy and Toto’s longed-for home state.
Following the movie closely, Dorothy, played by the pig-tailed, freckled Cassie Okenka, is joined by all her friends — the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and her little dog, too.
"And the Lion," Biedermann added. "The Lion usually steals the show because he is so funny."
The production is so authentic it’s even closer to the original release of the ’39 movie than the edited edition in video stores today, Biedermann said, as it includes the song "Jitterbug," which has been deleted from present-day DVDs. Other than that, the play’s effects make the audience feel like it’s stepping into the colorful, spooky world of Oz recognizable from the movie: "The show has sound effects and light effects and snow effects and poppy dropping and wicked witch flying," the actor explained. "The tornado scene is very cool. Audiences just love it."
That said, there is one aspect of the play making it stand apart from those before it. In an effort to get involved in communities, the crew sends teams out in every city it stops at to cast 12 kids from local dance studios as the munchkins.
"And you know how kids are today," Biedermann said, "you tell them one thing and before you know it they memorize the entire sentence."
For the actor, every moment of this tour has been a dream come true: From working with local kids to hanging out with Snickers (stage name: Toto) to traveling across the states. He’s come down a long, winding path to get here — experiencing war, gunshots, and odd jobs — but one could say it was his own Yellow Brick Road and he was just following it, dealing with all that challenged him along the way.
"It will never get any bigger than this tour for me," Biedermann said, after telling his story. "This is it."
For him, the tour seems to feel like home. And, indeed, there’s no place like it.
