MONMOUTH — Auditions for the Monmouth Community Players’ production of “The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz” by Virginia Glasgow Koste will be held  at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18  and 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19 at the Cottrel School cafeteria, 169 Academy Road.

Like the stage manager in Our Town, Frank Baum “stage manages” his story to keep the action brisk from scene to scene. Baum is a welcome and theatrical addition. In real life he was an actor, traveling salesman, vaudeville manager, newspaperman and authentic American gypsy. Swept to Oz on a cyclone, Dorothy joins with the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion as she searches for home and family.

“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” celebrates the importance of mind and heart; courage in facing what is feared; the need to dream, to dare, to ride out storms; the joys of loving, laughing, crying, being lost and found. Faithful to the original book, Koste’s play creates a fresh framework for Oz.

The production is directed by Chris Heckman. Performance dates are Friday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, Nov. 3. For more information, email [email protected].