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London High School breaks out the yellow brick road
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - February 23, 2010)
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In London High School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz,” (from left) Jayne Ruesch plays Glinda the Good Witch, Rachael Richardson is Dorothy, and Jordan Penix is the Wicked Witch.
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Tickets and Show Times
London High School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” will take place March 4-6 at 7:30 p.m. and March 7 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students and can be purchased at the door. Center section seats can be reserved for $10 each by calling ahead to Director Stephanie Stephens, (740) 852-5705, ext. 1544.
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“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!”
London High School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” comes complete with a disappearing and reappearing wicked witch, a ruby-slippered Dorothy, and a live Toto, played by Dawson Gray, a tiny Yorkie owned by London Elementary music teacher Teri Gray.
“I called Teri to see if Dawson was interested in auditioning for the part,” said Director Stephanie Stephens with a laugh. “He’s been to practice. He’ll do anything for a treat... We’ll have Teri backstage as our ‘livestock manager.’ ”
Dawson (a.k.a. Toto) isn’t the only star of the show. The leading foursome includes freshman Rachael Richardson as Dorothy and sophomores Matt Colvin as the Scarecrow, Jordan Farrell as the Tinman, and Jared Chastain as the Lion. Junior Jayne Ruesch plays Glinda, the good witch, to sophomore Jordan Penix’s Wicked Witch. Sophomore Sam Spahn is the Wizard, senior Joy Church plays Auntie Em, and senior Shelby Maynard is Uncle Henry.
Altogether, the cast numbers about 80, including 35 first- through seventh-graders who play Munchkins.
“It’s a hard show to rehearse because some of the characters are in a lot of scenes and some come and go,” Stephens said.
The technical aspects also present a challenge. Set designer Bruce Thompson is putting his skills as a magician to work, finding ways to make Glinda float and send the Wizard off in a balloon, among other tricks.
“These are all things we have to practice over and over again,” Stephens said.
Therein lies the biggest challenge of all. Due to February’s multiple snow storms, the cast has missed over a week’s worth of rehearsals.
“So, we’re doing double rehearsals leading up to the shows,” said Stephens, who praised the cast for going the extra mile to bring the production together.
This is Stephens’ 33rd year as a teacher. Each of those years, she has directed at least one musical and in some cases, a play, too. For “The Wizard of Oz,” her student stage manager is senior Kim Thomson. The assistant stage manager is senior Kelsie Van Horn.
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