There's No Place Like Home - The Magic of The Ruth
Updated: May 11
“No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.” - L. Frank Baum (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
Besides your own house, where have you felt most “at home?” Personally, I would choose London, England—where I lived for two years and served the people of Great Britain. But what makes a place, people, or notion feel like “home?” Hopefully you would agree with me that "home" is a place of emotional connection, belonging, warmth, and intimacy—qualities I would now associate with The Ruth & Nathan Hale Theater.
“But, how could a theater feel like home?”—you might ask. Well, let me take you on a journey—a journey involving an all-too-familiar yellow brick road:
This week, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a complimentary showing of The Wizard of Oz at The Ruth & Nathan Hale Theater (aka: “The Ruth”). Of course, I was excited to see a live reproduction of a classic film I grew up watching in my own home, but little did I know just how “live” it would truly be, or for that matter: just how at “home” I would truly feel in a place I had never been before.
As I sat there, enchanted by the production on all counts, I witnessed something surreal: we, as an audience, were sucked into the performance—included and engaged in every scene. I became just as enthralled with watching my fellow audience members react and live in the scenes much like I was.
In fact, when the impeccable puppet of Toto ran onto the stage, wagging his tail and panting with twitching ears, I saw two little girls across from me gasp in exhilaration and watch him with mouths agape. I was certain that at that moment, if the fire alarms went off, those girls would jump on the stage to save their newest family member. “Home,” I thought, “was about emotional connection to these two girls, and The Ruth was hitting that nail square on the head.”
After I also stopped gawking at the liveliness of the puppet, I decided to analyze the space around me. Why? Because, to me, intimacy is also an attribute of “home.'" Perhaps this is why I wasn’t surprised to find the Tin Man stationed on a tree-stump platform in the aisle between herds of audience members. I WAS surprised—however—that the scene continued to take place right there in the isle with dialogue and stage action. Strategically, that intimacy was shared with the audience around him. Heck, the surrounding audience was a part of the scene as far as I could tell.
Now, before I go on, I must make an unprecedented disclaimer: In high school, my best friend lived across the street from me and because of our familial relationship, his mother always told me to “make myself at home” whenever I was over there. She even told me once that the door was always unlocked if I ever wanted to come in and raid their fridge. Shamelessly, I actually did that once or twice. Why? Because it was my second home! I even felt like what was theirs was mine.
Here’s why I find that necessary to share: in the scene with the enchanted apple trees, I admittedly wondered if apples rolling around on the stage would become distracting after they threw them at our protagonists, but I was pleasantly surprised when (SPOILERS) the trees, instead, threw them directly into the audience like cheerleaders launching t-shirts from a cannon into the fan section of a ball game. For a moment, I imagined this particular instance of “breaking of boundaries” being accompanied by a familiar motto: “what’s ours is yours!” And somehow, for that same moment, I felt like I was nose-deep in my best friend’s refrigerator—or in other words: I was home.
In the second act of The Ruth’s beautiful production, I blinked and a series of things happened at once: the audience got snowed on, The Wicked Witch of the West threw some flower petals at an audience member, and the front row of people fanned the Lion with worshiping motions during his song about becoming king. In summary: the theater was alive! It was acting like one big family rolling the plot along together. That’s when I got that familiar sense of “home” again.
Perhaps, though, nothing compares to the scene when they (SPOILERS) kill The Wicked Witch of the West and the audience instinctively clapped along—in beat—to “The Witch is Dead” like it was some Irish jig and the dancer needed moral encouragement. If that’s not what happens in your home, you might need a new one… and I know just the place:
The Ruth.
The production itself blew me away. The set was breathtaking and the cast brought the show to life. The gimmicks with smoke, disappearing people, animatronic talking heads, flying monkeys, and live fire had me in awe for the entirety of the show. Of course, the music is also still stuck in my head. On top of all that, the costumes were stunning and elaborately detailed and the set made me lose complete sense of my own seat.
Sometimes, I feel like you can tell when there is a break in a story or a missing transition—and as a writer, I am fairly accustomed to recognizing them. That being said, The Wizard of Oz at The Ruth had no such instances. In fact, because of the smoothness of the flow, I felt like I was living in Oz—watching heroes find themselves.
This theater company continually surprised me with just how warm and welcome they truly were—not just because of the joyful ushers and staff, but because of the production magic itself. There truly is a wondrous sense of magic at Hale performances, and The Ruth upheld their end of that renowned promise.
I had the opportunity to ask the lead actor, Madeline Clifford (who plays Dorothy in the MWF performances), her thoughts on the magic and belonging at The Ruth and how her role added to that mystical serenity. This was Madeline’s inspiring response: “When I play this role, I try to make Dorothy very honest. I bring as much of myself as I can to her, while still being true to the classic character people know and love. I think that honesty and vulnerability help the audience relate to her and feel understood.” I think it’s poignant that Madeline highlights the relatability and truthfulness behind core characters. It only seems to reiterate that actors want to connect with the audience just as much as the audience wants to connect with them! This type of tandem relationship is what inspired me to write this article and highlight the warmth this Ruth home constantly strives for.
Madeline goes on to say: “Another wonderful thing about this show is that I truly love each of my fellow actors. The laughs and smiles are genuine because we’ve worked so hard together. It has really bonded us as a cast. That’s why our relationships on stage feel real. I think that authenticity creates a sense of community and helps the audience feel at home with us.” After watching The Wizard of Oz, you won’t agree more with Madeline, for you will feel nothing but “at home with everything about the production.”
Sometimes, as humans, we think that we have to go on vacation, or travel extensively to find thrills and feel adventurous, but for the most part, there are gems close around us that can give us those same experiences, and I can honestly say that The Ruth & Nathan Hale Theater in Pleasant Grove, Utah is one of those.
So, find your way over to The Ruth and LIVE a production—hopefully The Wizard of Oz—if you’re looking for a place of emotional connection, belonging, warmth, and intimacy. It’s a place to come with your family, or to FEEL like family. After all, “there really is no place like home!”
- Cale K. Montoya
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