The Fred Savage Movie The Wizard, Reconceived as a Stage Opera (in Italian)

Every kid who had a Nintendo in the late ’80s remembers The Wizard, featuring Fred Savage as the protective brother of a silent videogame savant, numerous plugs for Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Power Glove, and future pop diva Jenny Lewis as the runaway who befriends the heroic duo.

Only one of us has turned it into an Italian opera called Il Mago. It was performed at Space 55 in Phoenix, AZ, and director Bill Binder says, “In addition to regular performances, they have an event a few times a year called “Seven Minutes in Heaven” when they invite local artists to put together a seven minute piece. I have participated a few times in years past. They had an open slot and asked about three weeks ago if I could put something together. I thought the dumbest thing to put together for a seven minute act in a variety show would be an opera based on The Wizard, so I called some local singers, a composer and someone who speaks Italian and they all were eager to jump onboard.”

Luckily for you, the production was filmed…and it’s only just begun when the fat lady sings!