Working it out
Lumberjack Theatre puts on “The Wizard of Oz” as part of its first in-person musical in two years
Final Forre: The Lumberjack Theatre takes a final bow on March 12. “The people [ are the best part of the show], I have a lot of friends in the show it is just nice to see them on stage,” Veronica Oehlers (9), a crew member, said. Photo by: Adam Chodkowski
March 28, 2022
Through March 10-12, the Lumberjack Theater put on “The Wizard of Oz”. As the first in-person musical in two years, the cast and crew had to adjust to new challenges that they hadn’t had last year in their virtual showing of the show last year, which they filmed like a movie.
“One of the biggest challenges for this show in particular was getting a set to start with,” Naomi Gut (12) the stage manager said. “And finding the time to actually build it so that fell mostly to the crew.”
The set this year consisted of backdrops and moving set pieces.
The Cast and Crew also had to learn lessons that they didn’t have from last year, some of which cost a lot of time.
“There has been a lot of complex costume makeup,” Elsa Furmaski(12), who was part of the ensemble, said. “At one point the tinman put on a full face of silver makeup and didn’t go on stage for the entire rehearsal. That is pretty hard to do, but we are so lucky to have a great and understanding cast and crew.”
As the final performance gets closer and closer, they had to incorporate the pit orchestra who is participating in their first live in person performance. Last year, the music was recorded and not live.
“We get a lot less practice time,” William Boylin (12), a member of the pit orchestra, said. “It’s professional music, so it is much more challenging relative to the amount of time we get to practice, which makes it harder and requires more sight reading.”
Some students have had to pull double duty in order to keep the musical flowing together. Especially with a real dog on stage playing Toto.
“Definitely learning all the parts and finding out when to come in [was the biggest challenge] and all the choreography,” Vaughn Brodowski (9), who played Uncle Henry, said. “Personally, I had to get the dog off the stage so it was hard figuring out the times for that.
When it came down to it, the show went on and the cast and crew learned a lot and enjoyed their experience.
Brodowski (9) said, “The joy of actually doing theater [is the best part] this is my first year so I think I am going to keep it.”
