For those who want to follow the yellow brick road or get back to Kansas, the Penn State Thespians present a special treat.

The Wiz, with music and lyrics written by Charlie Smalls, jazzes up the The Wizard of Oz at 8 tonight in Schwab Auditorium. Premiering in 1974, the musical is an updated version of The Wizard of Oz, the musical based on the book by L. Frank Baum.

As a product of the '70s, it incorporates the musical styles of the time.

"In my opinion, the characters have more depth. It was a '70s musical, so there's a lot more rock and a lot more soul. More spiritual all around," said Karin Kysilka (sophomore-pre-law), assistant stage manager.

The original cast of The Wiz was all African American. But the Thespians didn't have any preconceived ideas about the ethnic background of the cast before auditions, said Mark Swetz, the show's director. Of the 20-member cast, six are African Americans.

"We went for talent more than ethnicity," said choreographer Avon Chandler, adding that the cast had to be able to pull off a rhythm and blues-type sound.

The casting came together in an interesting way, Swetz said. All the characters had some life experience or characteristic to incorporate in their roles, he added.

"It was really uncanny how much of their personalities paralleled to the people we were casting," Swetz said. The four friends -- Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion -- are all friends in real life, he added.

The Thespians are following the soulful version as far as it fits their situation. The influence of the '70s can especially be seen in the dancing and vocals.

"It has more of a gospel/modern type choreography to it," said Chandler (junior-elementary education), who plays the Scarecrow.

The show's musical style was the reason Chimene Petitt (junior-broadcast cable and business), who plays Auntie Em, auditioned for the show.

"I like to sing jazz . . . I think I can apply a lot of jazz technique to this music," Petitt said.

But Swetz (junior-theater and classics) updated the updated version to bring the musical into the '90s.

"It was a reflection of the community it was written for. We've tried to make it as accessible to the college audience," Swetz said. "I don't want the audience to sit through a two-hour disco flashback."

But the musical never strays too far from the original concept.

"When in doubt, we always went back to the book The Wizard of Oz," Swetz said. "Someone who's a Wizard of Oz fan can definitely appreciate this."