RANGELEY — Rangeley Lakes Regional School’s Drama Club danced us down the Yellow Brick Road for three fun-filled performances of The Wizard of Oz, on November 15, 16, and 17. The 19-member cast was comprised of students from the fifth grade all the way to the twelfth. Erin Smith, K-12 music teacher, directed, for her 20th year, this particular musical for her third time, with assistance from her long-time cohorts, Brittany Wetherill, Sue Downes-Borko, and Rowenna Hathaway.

Brittany, a 2009 RLRS graduate, describes her job as “helping the children figure out how to be other people…and they have done that very well. A lot of the kids started out stiff and unsure of what they were doing when they began, until they completely became the characters they were playing. It’s so much fun.” Brittany’s energy and commitment is infectious and her attention to detail translates fully to the living stage.

Ana Orazi as The Wicked Witch of the West. It’s not easy being green. (Photo by D.B. Hathaway)

There is no need to give a plot overview of The Wizard of Oz, a fantasy musical adapted from L. Frank Baum’s novel, since WoZ is deeply ingrained in the American psyche. It was a perennial favorite on television for Boomers and Millennials for decades. Quoting lines and singing songs from it is standard practice. The lessons it teaches, however, can be easily overlooked as we careen along the wending golden road.

Dorothy’s plight could be considered traumatic if given real thought. She’s a runaway girl lost in a faraway land desperately trying to get back home. Her house has fallen on and killed a “wicked” witch whose sister arrives with the aim of killing Dorothy as revenge. The trip only gets trippier from there, with munchkins and winkies and flying monkeys (oh my!), not to mention a brainless scarecrow, heartless tinman, and cowardly lion Dorothy befriends along her way to Oz in search of the all-powerful wizard she hopes will help her find her way home. The beautiful, bouncy music makes it easier for kids and adults, alike, to gloss over the story’s darker elements.

They’re off to see the Wizard! (Photo by D.B. Hathaway)

This is what Brittany refers to when saying, “Storytelling, but theater in particular, teaches empathy because you are literally stepping into somebody else’s shoes. I find that the kids who do theater learn to see themselves through other people’s perspectives.” The leads in the play exhibit this sentiment flawlessly, beginning with Shirley Truland as Dorothy Gale. 

Shirley started in theater her freshman year in Big Fish and says that becoming “the star of the show in such a popular play is awesome. And when Erin asked what show we wanted to do, I watched a little bit of Wizard of Oz on TikTok and I was, like, yup, I want to be Dorothy. That’s my role.” Shirley was saccharine perfection as Dorothy, embodying a farmgirl’s innocence as she transformed into a steely survivalist. “I researched Dorothy, read some and watched some of the movie, and she’s just very childish and much younger than she’s portrayed to be in the movie. I chose to play her as a very annoying middle-schooler.” Perhaps, but an annoying middle-schooler whose voice transported the entire audience over the rainbow to where dreams “really do come true.”

Scarecrow gets a brain. (Photo by D.B. Hathaway)

After absconding with the ruby slippers Dorothy’s first encounter is with Scarecrow, played by stage veteran, and freshman, Rylan Bottger. Rylan is new to RLRS, hailing from Westford, MA, where he had first played the scarecrow with Open Door Productions. “I think this character is the most relatable because he’s so human-like.” Rylan gives an exuberant portrayal of the straw-filled scarecrow, a true-blue friend to Dorothy and a loyal comrade to the tinman and lion. “Scarecrow learns that he really had a brain all along even though he was always told he didn’t.” Asked if he learned anything by stepping into the role: “The biggest thing I learned is ‘be yourself’ and to be kind to people. Don’t put yourself down. Whether we’re a main character or an ensemble member we’re all important. Everybody brings something special.”

The set design had a lot of moving pieces that stage manager, Millie Hoekstra, and crew, made sure got to where they were meant to be. Val Zapolsky’s fingerprints were everywhere. There were so many props backstage there was little room to move. Munchkinland was colorful, the forest was scary, Oz was bouncy and green, and the Witch’s castle was dark and forbidding. Justin Orazi’s lights helped set the appropriate mood. The twister played out on the front curtain, much like in the movie, with some help from a green screen and hammy cameos. The ensemble played multiple roles, requiring many, many costumes that were perfectly curated by Mary Boothby-Brown and others.

Mo Webber as the coroner declaring the Wicked Witch of the East sincerely dead. (Photo by D.B. Hathaway)

Makeup required a lot of greasepaint in this production, especially the greening of The Wicked Witch and silvering of the Tinman, expertly defined, measured, and applied by Audrey Sutherland and Mariah Hanson.

Troy Hathaway was the clinking, clanking Tinman who gained a heart only to have it broken when he had to say goodbye to Dorothy. He delighted the audience with his metallic pirouettes and bass low-notes that came from deep inside his cavernous chest. Kayla Brewer was absolutely endearing as the Cowardly Lion. There were hints of Bert Lahr in her comic timing and intonation but Kayla made Lion the lovable, life-sized stuffed animal he is. She earned every laugh she got. 

Courage, brain, and a heart. (Photo by D.B. Hathaway)

Stella MacFawn equally imbued her matronly Auntie Em with a midwestern sternness and a fond kindness. Also, Stella’s Glinda the Good Witch (not a princess, bro) captured Glinda’s essence with her every utterance and poised movement. Lance Cunningham showed real growth in his latest appearance on stage as Uncle Henry. He got his fair share of laughs when delivering his low-key zingers at Miss Gulch, played by Ana Orazi.

Which brings us to senior Ana Orazi as the Wicked Witch of the West. There was no holding back on Ana’s part. She was all in as the green, malevolent maven of mayhem. Her sinister cackles and menacing twists made everyone in her presence a shaking, quaking mess. Ana allowed her antagonist to ratchet up the disgust to such a point that when Dorothy threw the water on her, and she melted, the audience applauded because “ding-dong” the witch was dead but, also, in appreciation for the way Ana did the melting. Bravo, Ana.

Ana commands the Winkies. (Photo by D.B. Hathaway)

And some notable shoutouts: Kylie Slagg chewed up the stage every second she was on it as the Emerald City Guard; Hannah Snow’s bravura depiction of a huckster and confidence man as Prof. Marvel and the Wiz; Sarah Murphy and Mo Webber making Pam Ellis proud when dancing Erin’s choreography; Toto was the best trained dog ever – never missed his cue; Alden Sutherland’s spotlight was spot-on; and the entire ensemble was a well-oiled machine, crows cawing, monkeys flying, winkies “Oreo”-ing, all kept the enrapt children in the audience thoroughly entertained. 

And thanks to Sue Downes-Borko for assembling an elite band of musicians: Ethan Wright on percussion, Mike Schrader on bass, and Andrea Keirsted and Sue on keyboards; and, also, the heavenly backup vocals of the Pitties.

The Wizard of Oz cast. Front row, left to right: Sarah Murphy, Emily Slagg, Blake Gage, Sash Hines. Back row: Mo Webber, Rylan Bottger, Kylie Slagg, Ana Orazi, Troy Hathaway, Skyler Thompson, Stella MacFawn, Shirley Truland, Lance Cunningham, Kayla Brewer, Harper Wright, Hannah Snow, Olivia Heatley, and Jordan Atkinson. (Photo by D.B. Hathaway)

Dave Hathaway chronicled all three performances with photographs whose frozen moments have melted our hearts.

Erin Smith is a godsend. She is a product of the theater and a promoter of the best it has to offer kids, young and old, teaching them life-long skills, such as problem-solving, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, creative collaboration, empathy, all while instilling a confidence that encourages taking risks beyond their comfort zones. “I wouldn’t do it year after year,” she said, “if I didn’t love watching the kids grow and learn and shine. Their faces and their joy on stage is my favorite thing. When they nail a dance, or get a song right, or remember all the lines in a giant paragraph that we’ve been practicing every single day for weeks, I’m like a proud mom.” As parent Lily Weber put it, “Every year our community is swept away from our somewhat sleepy town into immersive stories from Whoville to Oz, from the scrappy streets of NYC to under the sea. In some magical, cosmic way, you do this, Erin.” 

And thanks, as always, with an abundance of gratitude, to the Rangeley Friends of the Arts for all they do for the children of the Rangeley community.