We’re not in Kansas anymore: Local actress puts spin on a classic role

This week, Henna Matharu will follow the yellow brick road on a trailblazing journey to Oz. 

Matharu, 21, will be the first South Asian woman in Neptune Theatre history to play Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, opening Nov. 4.

“I think this is a huge role. So, I do consider it a pretty big responsibility,” said Matharu. The Dartmouth native graduated from Mount Allison University in May and took a year to focus on acting. 

After finding out she got the role, Matharu said she burst into tears. “I think I became emotional because the news genuinely came as a shock to me,” she said.

The Wizard of Oz, a novel written by L. Frank Baum, was originally published in 1900. Among the most widely known adaptations is the 1939 film starring Judy Garland, who popularized the role of Dorothy.

“It’s not going to be the exact Judy Garland Dorothy that people may or may not be expecting,” said Matharu. “It will inherently be a different version of the character because I am a new person playing her.”

Matharu said she almost never comes across roles for South Asian women.

Neither did Anushka Sen, treasurer of the Dalhousie South Asian Society. Sen said she grew up seeing South Asians portray stereotypical roles and side characters, like nerdy students, strict parents, taxi drivers and janitors.

“South Asian people were not able to be seen as creative, funny or in romantic leads,” Sen said. “It’s pretty cool that our culture is being more recognized and represented, it makes me feel more understood and accepted.” 

The most recent Statistics Canada data shows South Asians make up 3.9 per cent of Halifax Regional Municipality’s total population, and 7.1 per cent of Canada’s overall, making South Asians the largest racialized group in Canada. 

It’s not going to be the exact Judy Garland Dorothy that people may or may not be expecting.

Henna Matharu

Stephanie Dotto, a postdoctoral fellow and professor of gender, race and popular culture at Mount Allison University, says that theatre companies often put on family-focused plays and musicals expected to produce money during the holiday season. This means returning to classic pieces like The Wizard of Oz.

“When we’re looking at old classics in theatre, we’re looking at things that are often profoundly white,” said Dotto.

Casting actors of colour in roles originally popularized by white actors “is just one way, and it should not be the only way, that we make theatre more equal, more reflective of society, and by extension more exciting,” said Dotto.

Matharu said that it would have meant a lot to her to see South Asian representation on the stage when she was active in community theatre as a child.

“I think it would have just been even more of a driving force to do this, knowing that someone that looks like me is in a leading role like Dorothy.

“I would hope that this show especially would encourage some young people to try and do theatre,” she said.

Her first role in community theatre was Dorothy. “It’s very full circle coming back to play this for real after playing it when I was eight years old,” she said. 

Matharu is excited to lead a Neptune production, having grown up attending shows at the theatre. She remembers watching local actress Julie Martell, who played Donna Sheridan in a 2018 Neptune production of Mamma Mia!, and it being a lightbulb moment for her. 

“She hits this really big last note at the end of The Winner Takes It All and I was just like, jaw dropped, sobbing, full body chills,” said Matharu. That moment inspired Matharu to pursue theatre professionally.

She got the chance to work with Martell when Neptune produced Mamma Mia! earlier this year — Matharu’s first professional theatre gig as part of the ensemble.

In the four weeks between Mamma Mia! closing and beginning rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz, Matharu read the book and re-watched the 1939 film in addition to learning the script. All of this preparation is helping her develop her own version of Dorothy.

The Wizard of Oz runs from Nov. 4 to Jan. 4 on the Fountain Hall Stage.