Follow the yellow brick road

Beginning Jan. 22, Notre Dame Academy students will welcome audiences to travel with them to the land of Oz and follow along on the journey of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion along the yellow brick road in a musical packed with special effects and student talent.

“For years, students have asked me to do The Wizard of Oz and I was always hesitant,” said Andrea Gilson, the show’s director. “But I am glad that we chose this production. I just absolutely adore it. It’s oddly beautiful, nostalgic, very whimsical and also very elaborate. It is by far one of our most technically challenging shows that we have done in the ten years I’ve directed here.”

Between costumes, special effects and set pieces, The Wizard of Oz has proven to be an intricate show to put together.

“The students play numerous parts in this show, so getting all the different costume pieces was a challenge, as well as the technical elements of the special effects,” Gilson said. “We wanted to make this a really immersive experience this year, so the audience will feel like they’re almost in The Wizard of Oz.”

“There’s a lot of different places that the musical goes to — you have the farm, you have Munchkinland, you have so many different places,” said Shaun Huss, who plays the Wizard in the show. “There’s so many different props and set pieces backstage and it kind of gets to be a lot of things to remember, props to remember to grab and places to put the props and set items.”

And with so many set pieces and props, one of the big challenges for the students in the show has been, “Figuring out how all the moving pieces fit together,” said Isabelle Fergus, who plays Aunt Em in the show. “We have to figure out where to go based on where the set pieces are and then also how to navigate where those set pieces go on stage.”

Even in the face of a technically demanding show, though, Gilson said the cast and crew have stepped up to the challenge.

“I absolutely love the process of putting together a show, but the growth this year has been tremendous,” she said. “Watching them work together and fully embrace these roles and just truly love the show and be so passionate about it, that’s just really a gift.”

“We have a great tech crew and we have such an amazing set crew, too,” said Caroline Broberg, who plays the Wicked Witch of the West in the show. “We have so many amazing people… I’m definitely excited to see how much talent we have. We have an incredible cast this year. We pride ourselves on being a pretty strong theater program, but this year, this show allows us to showcase a lot of the talent that we have, so I’m really excited for all the little featured roles as well as the big roles.”

And as opening night approaches, the cast is eager to share every aspect of their show with audiences.

“I’m most excited to see how people react to the special effects,” Fergus said. “We have so many different parts to this show and I think it’ll be super interesting to see how it all comes together.”

“I’m most looking forward to people hearing the songs and seeing the characters that they’re familiar with and seeing their stories come to life on the stage,” Gilson said.

Even for those familiar with The Wizard of Oz, the show is worth a watch.
“The Wizard of Oz is such a special show because it really is about the stories that we tell each other and the way that we can bring worlds to life through our imagination,” Broberg said. “I think that it’s such a timeless story that you’ll enjoy it as much as if you were seeing it in the theater for the very first time.”

“If you’ve seen The Wizard of Oz before — maybe another production or the movie or you’ve read the book — it stays faithful to the original, but it’s also completely different,” Huss said. “We add our own spin and we have our own way we act and way we have the set and the props. It’s definitely unique.”

Learn more about Notre Dame Academy’s upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz and purchase tickets at ndamusical.ludus.com.