The Wizard of Oz was brought to life this past weekend as local actors, directors and stagehands put on two sold-out performances of the Ham Sandwich production.
First time co-director Alain Lachapelle says he was more than pleased with the performance.
“It felt surreal,” he said. “After so many weeks of rehearsals and work, it definitely felt strange seeing the show and letting it run through without doing any stopping, or giving any direction to the actors. But they were so great, that the best thing about it was being able to sit back and enjoy.
“[I was] very happy and excited that it went the way it did. Everybody worked really hard to pull it off, and we all did [it] in a fantastic way. We’re so grateful to everyone who had a hand in the production,” Lachapelle said, speaking on behalf of himself and co-director Leslie Fernandes.
The two-hour performance took a cast of 36 – including 25 children – to tell the classic story of Dorothy and her quest to find her way back to Kansas after a tornado sends her to Oz.
With the help of friends along the way, she defeats wicked witches and befriends good witches – all with her little dog Toto by her side.
The talents showcased on stage surprised neither the audiences nor the directors.
“We knew everyone was going to pull it off,” said Lachapelle. “Yes, there were moments of stress, a few moments of panic, but in the end, with the great cast and crew we had, we knew that we had a hit show on our hands from the beginning.”
And the community backed them by showing their support through comments on social media sites like Facebook and through word of mouth.
“[It’s been] nothing but positive feedback,” said Lachapelle. “Everybody we’ve spoken to loved the show, so we’re really happy. Because in the end, it’s all for the audience.”
The community showed its support as both shows not only sold out, but also had extra seats added.
That was both exciting and scary for Lachapelle.
“To be honest, at first it was a bit nerve-wracking,” he said. “With all these people coming to the show, the pressure was on to deliver on heck of a good show.
“But as show time neared, we knew we had it, and knowing so many people were coming just gave us that little boost to get us to the end.”
The curtain rose Thursday, Nov. 27, and Friday, Nov. 28 at the RH Channing Auditorium.
For Lachapelle, it’s hard to pick just a few highlights.
“The whole process was great,” he said. “But really, the most fun we had was during the rehearsals.”
Rehearsals began in September and gave the cast a chance to get to know each other as well as their parts in the production.
“…you get to really have a lot of fun and laughs with the cast,” Lachapelle said. “And [of course] the shows themselves were…big highlights. It was great to finally see the finished product after so many months working on it.”
The cast and crew had 10 weeks to put The Wizard of Oz together. During the auditions, Lachapelle and Fernandes said they were excited to take on such a large performance for their first time in the director’s chair.
Now that the shows are over, Lachapelle sticks by the decision to do such a large performance right out of the gate.
“Would there have been as many audience members it was a different play? Maybe. Probably,” he said. “Who knows? But yes, go big or go home is definitely still our mindset.”
Lachapelle says he and Fernandes haven’t thought about how to top The Wizard of Oz just yet, “but it’s time that we start thinking about it. Well, maybe we’ll start thinking in a few months after lots of sleep.”
Now with both on-and-off stage experiences, Lachapelle says he’s hooked on community theatre.
“As first-time directors, this was a great experience, and we definitely will be doing it again,” he said. “However, we’re also both been on the stage, and we both enjoy that we much as well. So we’ll most likely keep doing both.”
Wizard of Oz Cast
Landice Yestrau (Dorothy); John Nicol (the Scarecrow); Buz Trevor (the Tin Woodman); Thomas Heine (the Cowardly Lion); Steven Fisher (the Royal Historian, Wizard of Oz); Stacey Hyndman (the Witch of the West); Cheryl Feszczyn (the Witch of the North); Courtney Woods (the Witch of the South); Grayden Bedford (the King of the Winged Monkeys); Lisa Rogers (Aunt Em); John Taylor (Uncle Henry); Talissa Alexander, Denstiny Bishop, Lucas Bonsant, Jade Goodman, Piper Green, Karma Gunn, Scarlet Gunn, Drayden Lowe, Emma Salen, Deven Stener, Kiara Straile, Lacey Svaren and Makenna Svaren (Munchkins); Brianna Alexander, Torri Bjarnason, Gracie Dubinak, Halle Moore, Brooke Phof, Taya Rogers, Kayla Streitle and Dhara Trubiak (Ozites); Cooper Eastman, Olivia Fernandes, Hanna Lytwyn and Myles Patterson (Winged Monkeys)
