TORONTO - Jamie McKnight once wore slick suits as a member of the Canadian operatic singing group the Tenors. But these days, his job attire is decidedly more rustic.
As the Scarecrow in a new Toronto production of "The Wizard of Oz," McKnight has to wear not only a straw-and-burlap outfit but also lots of padding as he constantly tumbles to depict his character's loose limbs.
"I call it my (professional skateboarder) Tony Hawk gear, Tony Hawk padding," the Toronto-raised theatre performer said in an interview at a recent rehearsal, pointing to the rear cushioning on his pants and his knee and thigh pads.
"Yesterday was the first time we ran through the show once all the way through. And just doing it once, no problem. But when you're doing it over and over, yeah, you get sore."
Mike Jackson, who plays the Tin Man, has the opposite problem.
"Everything I do is completely stiff," said the Vancouver native, explaining that his costume had to be crafted in a manner that allows him to be mobile but constantly erect.
"The trick and the challenge has been singing on top of it. Moving that way is easy 鈥� singing ... lines while you're sort of pop-and-locking is difficult."
Such is the dedication the all-Canadian cast has shown to the Andrew Lloyd Webber show, which began performances at the Ed Mirvish Theatre on Dec. 20 and has its media performance on Sunday.
"They're amazing, and I'm not just saying that because I'm talking in sa国际传媒," said British director Jeremy Sams, who also worked on the London production.
"But they really are, particularly their commitment and their hard work."
The cast had to gel quickly after Danielle Wade of La Salle, Ont., won the lead role of Dorothy in early November on the CBC-TV reality series "Over the Rainbow."
As a result, they rehearsed six days a week.
"I'm tired all the time but it's a good kind (of exhaustion). It's a hard-working kind," said Wade.
Other cast members include Cedric Smith as the Wizard, Lisa Horner playing the Wicked Witch, Lee MacDougall in the role of the Lion, and Robin Evan Willis as Glinda. The ensemble includes Larry Mannell as Uncle Henry, Charlotte Moore as Aunt Em, and three Norfolk terriers sharing the role of Toto.
"This company have learned the show very quickly," said Sams. "But most excitingly, we've been learning from them, and I've changed loads from London.
"It's tighter, it's faster. ... We're inventing stuff together."
"The Wizard of Oz" stage show is inspired by both the 1939 classic film and the books by L. Frank Baum. It features four new songs from Lloyd Webber and longtime collaborator Tim Rice as well as a tornado, flying witches and monkeys, and snow that falls on the audience.
"This is a great piece for theatre magic," said Sams, who earned two Tony Award nominations for the 2002 Broadway production "Amour."
But this version of "Oz" 鈥� which will go on tour with the original all-Canadian cast after Labour Day 鈥� is also scaled down from the London version, he added.
"In London, it was more like a Vegas show. It had hydraulics going up and down and zooming around. The new version is very much more like a fairy story with beautiful theatre scenery. Sort of theatre magic rather than mechanical magic."
When word broke that Mirvish would be mounting "Oz" in Toronto, there was "huge buzz" in the Canadian theatre community, said Jackson.
"These big shows don't come along that often in Toronto anymore," he explained. "There was a time when they were aplenty 鈥� not as much anymore, so to have a career in sa国际传媒 you tend to have to travel, you tend to have to work away from home a lot, across the country or in the States.
"So this means huge production, living at home, an extended period of time, guaranteed work for months and months and months. It's a big job, it's a big deal."
That also means competition was "pretty fierce" during auditions, added Jackson, who played the Tin Man as a teen in a community theatre production and has been working professionally in the theatre since he was 20.
"When I went in and auditioned for the team, there was a roomful of Wicked Witches in the waiting room, so it's intimidating."
When McKnight landed the role of the Scarecrow, he "was really crazy about taking yoga classes just to be flexible, just to avoid any kind of injury," he said.
"That was my biggest concern. I don't want to be injured."
For all the physical strain, working with the rest of the cast has been "like a ride," added McKnight, who was in the group formerly known as the Canadian Tenors in 2008 and has been in stage productions including "The Producers," "Hair" and "The Toxic Avenger."
"It's like a joke, it's so fun. It's like, 'This is our job?'"
"I keep saying it's like winning the lottery," added Jackson. "It's just been incredible from the start."
