FARMINGTON – Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Dorothy and Toto, along with a flock of flying monkeys and other unforgettable characters, will be skipping down the yellow brick road Friday and Saturday in two performances of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The Children’s Summer Theater production, sponsored by The Mt. Blue Music Boosters as a fund raiser for the school district’s music programs, has a cast of 29 actors, ranging in age from 6 to 13 years old. Performances are set for Aug. 1 & 2, beginning at 7 p.m., in the Bjorn Auditorium on the Mt. Blue High School campus.
Putting all this together in just two weeks is director Kat Zachary. A veteran of Sandy River Players children’s summer theater productions and a recent University of Maine at Farmington graduate, she is also getting help from an experienced stage crew of current and former Mt. Blue High School theater students. Her assistants, Noah LePage and Astra Pearson are helping with the daily practice of rehearsing, set building, costumes and keeping things organized. Rosemary Priest and Brendan Hickey are also assisting.
“All the monkeys, follow me,” Zachary said at the start of this morning’s rehearsal. Once fitted with their large brown wings and a cut-off solo cup fastened on top of their heads, the monkeys line up for their cue to go on stage.
“We’ll start on page 30; the witch has just been melted,” Zachary said and she cautioned, “Monkeys be careful with your wings.”
This production, which has a running time of about 90 minutes, is closer to author L. Frank Baum’s original version than the iconic movie. Differences include a few additional characters from the book and details such as Dorothy’s slippers are silver, not the ruby red as in the movie version. Red was chosen because the movie’s producers wanted to show off the new-fangled technicolor invention. For this stage production, Zachary did add seven songs from the movie, which are accompanied by Andrea Keirstead on piano.
“I love the kids; I love working with kids,” Zachary said between rehearsing scenes. “They bring a unique perspective to everything.”
Tickets will be available at the door; Adults/Seniors $6; Student/Child $4. For more information, contact Debbie Seeley at 778-9053 or 491-8503.
