YELLOW PRICK ROADS: Boston’s warped, Elliot Award–winning monologuist and playwright John Kuntz switches gears for Emerald City. Written for a cast of four, it’s technically his first work to upgrade to dialogue. It is, indeed, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, featuring "a menacing transvestite, a one-handed ex–child star, an epileptic hustler with Tourette’s syndrome, and a quirky homeless waitress whose hallucinatory trances take them all on a comic, frightening journey." But of course. Emerald City is presented as the closing work of Centastage’s 10th season, opening March 30 at 8 p.m. and running through April 14 at the Black Box Theatre in the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street. Call 426-2787.

NEXT WEEKEND

Gymnasts aren’t usually applauded for their creativity. The sport requires strength, agility, grace. But clever choreography? Inventive lighting design? Well, that’s precisely what you can look for when 15 Romanian gymnasts bound into the Emerson Majestic next weekend for the FleetBoston Celebrity Series event Aeros.

The brainchild of Italian producer Antonio Gnecchi, Aeros finds gymnasts trying to expand their creative horizons by adding art to their athletic feats. When pressed to clarify what exactly Aeros is, a member of the creative team describes it as "a hybrid of dance, theater, gymnastics, choreography, and movement." Clear?

Gnecchi originally rounded up the crew of gymnasts four years ago, when he produced a simpler version of the show as a one-shot deal in Milan (backed by hair-care company Pantene). When that effort proved a success, he decided to take it on the road, enlisting the help of a trio of artistic bigwigs — Daniel Ezralow, David Parsons, and Moses Pendleton — to add a script, choreography, and music to the aerobic feats performed by members of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation.

That trio turned the show into the blowout that’s coming to the Majestic. Ezralow is a director, a choreographer, and a dancer; he’s probably best known for staging the final hurrah in Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca tour, and for choreographing The Grinch. Parsons, a former lead dancer with the Paul Taylor Company, is the choreographer for the Parsons Dance Company. And Pendleton, co-founder of the Pilobolus Dance Theatre, staged the 1980 Olympics’ closing ceremonies among other projects. Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, the creators of Stomp, worked with TTG Music Lab on the percussive, tribal-sounding score, which will be performed live.

But we’re still not sure how to categorize the show. "A lot of the moves are upside down under black lights," explains Parsons over the phone from New York. "You can’t tell if they’re their arms or legs. There’s a lot of structure and tumbling routines. We’re basically meeting the gymnasts halfway."

Actually, if you watched this year’s Grammys, you may have seen a brief adagio section of Aeros, in the form of the slithery backdrop that accompanied Destiny’s Child’s performance. There the gymnasts were draped on a large, metallic, globelike object — climbing around, hanging off, looking awfully arty. The jungle gym — designed by Michael Curry, who worked on the masks and puppets for the Broadway production of The Lion King — is merely one of the props for the performers to play on in the full-length presentation. There are also familiar gymnasts’ standbys like trampolines and parallel bars, and circus favorites like balls, ropes, and rings.

With all the different artistic contributors, putting the show together was both a challenge and a joy for those in charge. But the hardest part was teaching the foreign gymnasts a new language — dance. "It was difficult at the beginning," admits Parsons. "I don’t really think of this as dance. It’s mostly gymnastics moves with choreographers’ eyes." But to his eyes, gymnastics are old hat. "I was originally a trampolinist; it’s wonderful to come back full circle."

Aeros will be presented next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, March 15 through 17, at 8 p.m. at the Emerson Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street. Tickets are $40 to $45 and can be purchased by calling 482-6661, or by visiting the theater box office.