(Above: Lead actors in The Shedd’s Production of The Wizard of Oz are, left to right, Kenady Conforth, Miriam Major, Tom Wilson, and Dylan Stasack)
By Randi Bjornstad
Everyone knows the story, so there’s no need to recap the plot (young girl gets conked on the head during a Kansas cyclone and has a fantastical dream about landing in a parallel universe peopled with faces and personalities she already knows) or the characters (Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, two evil and one good witch, a flock of scary flying monkeys, and a hapless Wizard).
The Shedd Institute for the Arts is putting it all onstage as part of its Shedd Theatrical series, from Sept. 14 to 30, using the 1987 musical adaptation of the famous MGM movie from 1939 that featured music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg.
The Shedd’s cast features Kenady Conforth as Dorothy, with Tom Wilson, Dylan Stasack, and Miriam Major taking the parts of Dorothy’s sidekicks, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion.
They’re joined by Janet Whitlow as the Wicked Witch of the West and Sophia James as Glinda, the Good Witch, along with Matt Leach and Phil Dempsey, playing the Emerald City Guard and The Wizard. Mia plays Toto the dog.
The ensemble includes Jim Ballard, Eric Blanchard, Cyra Conforth, Conner Criswell, Tessa Douangaphaivong, Johanna Gilbert, Ashley Mason, Abigail Howell, Mackenzie NesSmith, Garrett Poncho, Christopher Ridgley, Heidi Turnquist, with a youth ensemble made up of Riley Given, Campbell Conforth, Frankie Danielson, Ayden Jeskey, Zoe Goings, and Daisy R. DeSalvo.
Richard Jessup directs the show, with Robert Ashens in charge of music and Caitlin Christopher doing the choreography. Rhonda Turnquist is costume designer, with scenic design by Phil Dempsey and Connie Huston.
If the credits rolled, they also would include Mike Briley, technical director; Amy Dunn, set builder and assistant painter; Kristin Combs, production & stage manager; Tabetha Crosely, assistant stage manager and properties master; George Comstock, production associate; Tabetha Crosely, properties master; Emily Kidder, assistant to the conductor; Cosmo Cole, lighting and sound design; Abigail Howell, child wrangler; and Jim Ralph, executive producer.
Then there’s the music, of course, numbering well over a dozen familiar offerings that people have been at least humming — more likely singing lustily — for nearly 80 years. Chief among them, of course, are Over the Rainbow, We’re Off to See the Wizard, If I Only Had a Brain (Heart) (Nerve), and Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead.
The Wizard of Oz
When: 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 14-15, 21-22, 28-29; and 3 p.m. matinees on Sept. 16, 23, and 30
Where: Jaqua Concert Hall, The Shedd Institute for the Arts, 868 High St., Eugene
Tickets: $28 to $38 (some discounts apply); available at the ticket office, 541-434-7000, or online at theshedd.org
Add a meal: Pre-evening show and post-matinee meals served at The Shedd are available by reservation via the box office
Two of the most recognizable movie characters of all time come from “The Wizard of Oz,” played in The Shedd production by Kenady Conforth (Dorothy) and Janet Whitlow (The Wicked Witch of the West)
