Let's deal with the elephant in the room straightaway. Everyone's Theatre Company's production of "The Wiz" features a multicultural cast. Indeed, nearly every color of the ethnic rainbow is represented on stage. But all of the lead roles are played by white actors. That's worth mentioning only because the show, first staged in 1975, was originally cast entirely with African-Americans, and was explicitly intended to retell L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" with a nod toward the modern black experience. The show has since had "colorblind" revivals in which race is taken out of the equation more or less altogether; the ETC production carries on that tradition.

Still, the show will inevitably raise ethical questions. Is it offensive to have a historically black show feature primarily white actors? Is it acceptable to remove the racial component from a show that means so much to a disenfranchised community? I can't answer those questions. All I can tell you is that while watching the Jeff Clair-directed production, by the time Dorothy's house touched down in Oz, I had forgotten completely about the show's racial subtext. I just focused on enjoying some very strong performances by some of our town's best community-theater talent.

"The Wiz" is more or less a straight port of "The Wizard of Oz," just modernized. The script is overhauled to include references to and urban lingo from the 1970's. The songs from the iconic 1939 film version have been replaced with a variety of catchy tunes, most of them in pop, R&B, soul, and gospel arrangements. But the plot - bratty Kansas girl gets sucked into a tornado and put through a coming-of-age journey in a strange land - and almost all of the characters remain basically the same.

The ETC production succeeds because of its strong lead cast. In the roles of Dorothy's three whimsical companions, Chris Eklund (Scarecrow), Brian J. Maxwell (Tinman), and Michael Ciaccia (Lion) carry almost the entire first act with their spirited and charming performances. All of them bring strong voices and lots of personality to their roles; Maxwell even busts out a fancy tap number. Although they were all good, Ciaccia really stood out in his portrayal of Lion, spicing up his character with sassy asides and even a nice bit of improv during his encounter with the dancing poppies.

As Dorothy, Lauren MacDonough has many nice moments, and her graceful movements suggest years of dance training. However, on opening night she never seemed to fully inhabit the character; she almost seemed to be trying too hard. She also had some pitch issues in some songs, but nailed others.

Two actors with smaller roles made big impressions. The Wicked Witch, known as Evillene in "The Wiz," is in only a few short scenes, but Laura Marron makes every second count. Evillene's big number, "No Bad News," is a bluesy tour de force, and on opening night Marron commanded the stage, whipping around her cape, her crazy hairstyle, and her, well, whip, and seemed to have a lot of bitchy fun.

Billy DeMetsenaere has slightly more stage time as The Wiz, and uses it to turn his character into the most sympathetic, complex character in the show. The Wiz is a little more fleshed out in this version of the story, and DeMetsenaere explores the character's many facets. He's legitimately terrifying in his initial, blustery encounter with Dorothy, then inspirational in his acceptance of his faults, and downright funky in his big James Brown-inspired number, "Y'All Got It."

Community theater can provide a learning opportunity for the audience, cast, and crew. I hope that the rest of the cast of "The Wiz" pays attention to how much DeMetsenaere in particular commits to his role. He's on stage only for maybe 20 minutes, but he's fully present that entire time, engaging with the character and the audience.

In contrast, the night I was there I noticed that several members of the chorus looked bored or even annoyed to be on stage. Even the smallest roles are important. If you're on stage, someone in the audience might be paying attention to you and only you, lead or not. And if you look miserable - even if that's not your intention - it comes across. From Munchkin to Tornado Dancer, Flying Monkey to Emerald City Citizen, those are important parts of this story. I would encourage the cast to relish that, and to do their best to bring those characters to life every second they're on the stage.

The other major issue with the show is the set design, or lack thereof. The sets for "The Wiz" are sparse to nonexistent. I understand that ETC is still a relatively young company and it doesn't really have a home base for set construction or storage. However, when you're putting shows on in an area where groups like Webster Theatre Guild and Pittsford Musicals - to name a few - routinely assemble major sets, you've got to up your game. Especially when you're putting on a spectacle show, and "The Wiz" is unquestionably a spectacle show.

The lack of sophisticated sets was more apparent considering the fantastic costuming by designers Olga Marron, Molly Moore, and assistant Mary Amato. The clothes were across-the-board impressive - everyone looked good, from chorus to leads - with some inspired solutions to difficult problems (loved the Munchkin outfits).

"The Wiz"

By Everyone's Theatre Company

Through June 20

JCC Hart Theatre, 1200 Edgewood Ave.

$10-$15 | 415-4747, everyonestheatre.com