‘The Wizard of Oz’ coming to Theatre Dublin in West Laurens student production

For the West Laurens High School Drama program, there is no place like the stage at Theatre Dublin.

That will be the cast’s home as they prepare to bring “The Wizard of Oz” to the stage on May 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and will be available for purchase by a QR code and link before the show. Tickets will be able to be purchased at the door the night of the performances.

Drama teacher and director Chase Boatright said “The Wizard of Oz” was one show he always wanted to either star in or direct.

“When I became the drama teacher here, I knew at some point we had to do ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Boatright said. “It has always been a dream of mine. I really enjoyed it when I first saw the musical when I was in high school. It is a very family-friendly story that just about everyone is familiar with in some shape, form or fashion.”

Also, the latest “Wicked” movies has brought attention back to “The Wizard of Oz.”

“I thought this would be a pretty cool time to do this show,” Boatright said. “This is by far the biggest cast since I’ve been director here. We will not only have high school and middle school students, but we are also incorporating some students from Northwest and Southwest elementary schools.”

He is leading more than 60 students for this show. They have been working on it for just about the entire semester. Auditions for the show were held during the first two weeks of January.

“It was a pretty hard decision casting our Dorothy and Glenda,” Boatright said. “In fact, we had to do callbacks. It was really rewarding to see the potential in the students who auditioned. Seeing how enthusiastic they were to receive their roles was pretty rewarding, too. We have a great cast. I’m really excited for them to get out there, and for some of them, this is their first lead role.”

Annabeth Luecke was excited to get the part of Dorothy.

“I was really nervous because there were other good people in the running for it,” the senior said. “When I saw my name on the list, I jumped out of bed and ran around the house yelling, ‘I got it! I got it!’ It was so exciting.”

Luecke likes her character because she feels a lot like Dorothy.

“She gets to know everybody, and I feel the same,” Luecke said. “When we first started with our practices, I would walk around, ask people their names and get to know them. She is very good with other people.”

And she gets to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

“I’m not tired of doing that,” Luecke said.

Caroline Smith, an eighth-grader, will be playing Toto.

“That was a unique part of this play,” Boatright said. “During our auditions, we had students help one another as scene partners. (Smith) wound up being a lot of people’s Toto. In this musical, Toto has lines and a couple of barks. Looking at her performance, we decided to try it out.”

During the first couple of scenes in Kansas, Toto will be a real dog. Smith will take over when Dorothy’s house lands in Oz.

“Toto is everywhere all the time,” Smith said. “He is different to play.”

She will be able to walk around and was glad she does not have to crawl around the stage.
“I really love ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Smith said. “I feel like everybody does their roles, so well.”

Leo Herrera, sophomore, will bring to life the Scarecrow, who wants to get a brain.

“I like how goofy he is,” Herrera said. “I really like playing funny characters in general. I feel like I match his personality.”

Brian Johnson will be playing the Tin Man, who is searching for a heart.

“It feels great, and this is a fun role,” the senior said. “This was the role I wanted. I like how he can be aggressive, but also funny.”

Connor Francis, a junior, will play the Cowardly Lion, who seeks courage.

“I watched the movie before the audition so that I could figure out who I wanted to go out for,” Francis said. “I thought the Lion was the funniest character. I was very lucky to get him.”

He knows it will be hot in the lion costume.

“But I’m still happy I got the part,” Francis said.

Caleb Bryant will play the Wizard. 

“I have listened to the voices of those who have played the Wizard in other shows,” said Bryant, a sophomore. “I’m trying to find a good mix and match of what the Wizard should sound like for this interpretation and I also want to make the Wizard my own and give him my own spin.”

The Wizard is a powerful character, Bryant said.

“People love him in Oz,” he said. “He was a circus performer and then he landed in Oz. He becomes this great and seemingly powerful leader. He does seem to go kind of crazy a little bit.”

Zoe Turner, who is in the eighth grade, will be Glinda the Good Witch.

“I was very excited but a little nervous because those are big shoes to fill,” Turner said. “I love how she is protecting a girl she just met. She doesn’t even know her yet. She just knows she is worth protecting and she is kind to all of the Munchkins.”

Alex Lyman, a sophomore, will be the Wicked Witch. She is excited about the chance to be painted green.

“This was the role I was aiming for the entire time,” Lyman said. “I love villains. Villains are my favorite characters. Being evil is awesome. The Wicked Witch does not care what anybody thinks of her.”

From the Wicked Witch’s perspective, she just wants her sister’s shoes.
“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Lyman said. “(Glenda) has the Wizard on her side.”

Turner likes the show because of the magic.

“A bad thing happens and a girl goes on a journey to discover what she really wants,” she said. “In the beginning, she is looking for a place without any trouble. Then she goes beyond the rainbow and sees there is still trouble. But she can overcome it with the people she cares about.”

Lyman has enjoyed working with the cast.

“It is hilarious to be amongst this group,” she said. “With the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the main monkey, those three have done their shenanigans last semester when we did the One Act play. The people are fun to be around.”

Luecke has enjoyed the fact that her cast mates are very helpful.

“We’ll just run lines and that is very encouraging,” she said.

What Johnson likes about this production is the fact that everybody plays a big part.

“Everybody has a good role,” he said. “Rather it is the ensemble or dancing. There is Dorothy but also multiple main characters. Everybody will stand out in their own way.”

Bryant was glad they did “65 Mustang” last fall because that gave him an opportunity to meet people who are now in this cast. 

“I met people like Connor that I would not have met otherwise,” he said. “If I had not joined, we wouldn’t have become friends. I have plenty of friends here. By joining drama, I have gotten to build a relationship with these people.”

Bryant is no stranger to the stage at Theatre Dublin. He was in the inaugural Dublin Community Theatre production of “Bye, Bye Birdie.”

“I’ve been doing this for a while,” he said. “But doing this in the school setting, where you are around the same people day in and day out, is a way of keeping relationships going.”

This production will have some differences from the movie. Instead of going into the poppy fields, the main characters will encounter jitterbugs sent by the Wicked Witch. This was a scene that was cut out of the movie.

“I thought that was supposed to be in the film, but they deleted it,” Boatright said. “It is going to close out what will be our first half, even though it is not specifically split into an act 1 and 2. We’re treating it as such so people can catch their breaths and we’ll have the jitterbugs swapping over into other ensemble roles as well.”

Special effects have been an interesting journey in this production. The cast has practiced at the high school for the majority of the time and will only have a few days at Theatre Dublin. They have figured out how to do the Wizard’s head and use fog machines to help with his first appearance in the Emerald City.

Besides that, how does one make a tornado for the beginning of the show? The WLHS color guard director came up with an idea for her students to wear black and gray and do a spinning routine and make a human tornado on the stage, Boatright said. 

“We are not having any students fly in this show,” he said.