Among the musicals high schools like to do -- and there are about 60 different titles on the Post-Gazette's list of 120 musicals being staged during the next two months -- "The Wiz" has the advantage of both familiarity and novelty.

That's "The Wiz," not "The Wizard of Oz." With its sassy, contemporary book by William Brown and juicy rock, r'n'b and gospel-inflected score by Charlie Smalls, "The Wiz" is a thorough remake of L. Frank Baum's "Wonderful Wizard of Oz," the 1939 Hollywood movie musical and their many stage adaptations.

It's the prevalence of those that make the story so familiar, but it's re-imagining the story into an urban landscape with African-American musical idioms and characters that makes "The Wiz" feel so new. In other words, we know the basic story so well that we can enjoy the ways "The Wiz" reinterprets it. In fact, "The Wizard of Oz" keeps on giving, witness the recent hit "Wicked," one step farther down the road of darkened revisionism.

But in spite of its popular lineage and vibrant score, "The Wiz" isn't done as often as you'd expect. There are just two on this year's list, the one at West Mifflin Area High School I saw last weekend and one the week before farther down the Ohio at New Brighton. (There are also two "Wizards of Oz," at Kiski and Freeport, both in April.)

That seems about par for the course: last year, there were three stagings of "Wiz" and four "Wizards," and the year before, two of each.

On the basis of the big, showy West Mifflin production, I'd say "The Wiz" should be more popular. After all, it's been around since 1975 and it has its own movie, admittedly somewhat lurid and not so beloved. Some high school directors may avoid it because they just don't like it as much as the more traditional "Wizard"; they may even feel the original is such a classic that the adaptation is sacrilege. But I think what really holds "The Wiz" back is that it's perceived as "black."

It is, of course. But white suburban schools do "Fiddler on the Roof," in which students imagine themselves as Russian Jews. Similar leaps of imagination are many, since the heart of theater is transformation, whether into different ethnic groups, eras, ages, genders or even species ("Cats"!). There's just more nervousness about the line between white and black.

So kudos to West Mifflin for stepping across that line, introducing their students and audience to a robust reinterpretation of the Oz story that has the considerable advantage for a big school of many lead roles and different chorus groups. You may lose something when individual characters aren't played with full ethnic panache, but when is that not true of student performers? The pleasure of exploring artistic diversity is its own reward.

West Mifflin director Jennifer Berad tells me she chose "Wiz" largely because she had a strong group of boys. It goes without saying that she also had girls who could handle (and even double cast) Dorothy and the three witches, who loom larger than in the traditional "Wizard."

What West Mifflin also boasts is a school orchestra the envy of many other schools. Fred Danchenko waved his baton over about 60 students, augmented by a few adult music staffers or guest professionals.

The result was a full, rich sound for this lively, raucous score. The best-known, most rousing songs are "Ease On Down the Road," "No Bad News" and "Everybody Rejoice: Brand New Day," but there are also "Slide Some Oil to Me," "Be a Lion" and even ballads like "Believe in Yourself."

The size of the orchestra was met by the size of West Mifflin's staging, with energetic if repetitive choreography by Linda Turner, big sets and some flashy pyrotechnics to help fill the massive stage, and an extraordinary stage crew to move the sets with invisibility and speed. One of my favorite moments was the start of the curtain call, when the stage and costume crew rushed on stage and you realized how many had been toiling efficiently back there.

Among the lead performers, I was most impressed by Josh Faulkner, a strong audience favorite and one of the cast's few African-Americans, who captured the Lion's comedy and sentiment, and by Nick Dobransky, a physical and flexible Scarecrow. Kevin Bonacci's Tinman had one of the best voices, and taking the prize for stage presence was Shaun Umpleby's Wiz, who had the strut and command of a Las Vegas showman.

On the female side, Chelsea Oakes' Addaperle also provided plenty of presence, and Sarah Mauer's Glinda so adroitly handled a balky wig that I thought it was a purposeful comic bit. Rebekah Coley's vamping Evillene was unfortunately sabotaged by a malfunctioning mike in her big number, but otherwise the sound was fine.

The ensemble handled a great variety of roles, ranging from the bump and grind of the Poppy Field number to the cute Mice Squad. A few added local references to Whitaker, McKeesport and South Side got laughs, as did the longest "limo" you've ever seen.

Cast, orchestra, set and sound had to be large, because West Mifflin has the misfortune to play in an auditorium that feels as big as Soviet Russia, or at least as big as the Benedum Center. I moved closer for Act 2, where I could feel much more of the performers' personalities.

The printed program was thick, full of the usual family testimonials and pictures of the performers as small children. Along with the enthusiasm of cast and audience, it gave the evening what a high school musical should always have, the zest of a real community event.

Complete Post-Gazette high school musicals coverage from every region, including Kelly Critics reviews, is available on the High School Musicals Web page. Access it at post-gazette.com/theater/hsmusicals.asp.