The newest production at Marathon Community Theatre is going somewhere the playhouse hasn’t been in a decade – and not just because it’s heading to the magical “merry old land” of Oz.
For the first time in 13 years, a main-stage production will feature a mixed-age cast in “The Wizard of Oz,” opening Thursday, Nov. 13.
That means 4-year-olds in the company as flying monkeys, 11 Switlik kids as munchkins, sassy crows and talking trees – and a dog.
“It’s been a bigger endeavor than I even thought it would be – and I did think it would be pretty big,” said director Kara Pascucci. “But it’s going to shine.”
The journey down the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy (Destiny Lee), the Scarecrow (Shannon Wiley), the Tin Man (John Schaefer) and the Cowardly Lion (Dale Coburn) is filled with all the classic tunes from the original film, as the musical script follows the 1939 movie as closely as possible.
The gang will dodge a cackling Wicked Witch of the West (Stephanie Smith) and lean on Glinda the Good (Michelle Macoskey) for help on a quest to get back home to Auntie Em (Cheryl Wilcox) and Uncle Henry (Josh Mothner) in Kansas.
It’s a show Pascucci and children’s director Stephanie Zajac were already deeply familiar with, as the pair co-directed a children’s theater version of “Oz” in 2022. And the last time MCT put kids in a full-length musical, Pascucci was in the cast, playing Liesl Von Trapp in 2013’s “The Sound of Music.”
Managing a company from preschoolers to retirees meant working double-duty, balancing musical and choreography run-throughs with separate rehearsal schedules for kids and adults. (We’ll let our readers imagine which are more difficult to deal with.) But the magic of putting them all on stage, Pascucci said, was worth it.
“I’m proud of the hard work that everybody has put into it,” she said. “Seeing the joking relationship that’s come out between the four leads translates to funnier moments on stage – we’re seeing all the little pieces coming together.”
Those “little pieces” include a bevy of hand-painted set pieces befitting the magical Emerald City, along with a few surprise technological touches not usually seen on the MCT stage.
And with “Oz” set to open one week before the premiere of “Wicked: For Good” on the silver screen at Marathon Community Cinema, the entire front of the building is painted for the occasion: The Yellow Brick Road invites guests to both entrances.
“The Wizard of Oz” runs Nov. 13-29 at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays except Thanksgiving Day. Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. on Nov. 16 and 23. Tickets are available at marathontheater.org or 305-743-0994.
Photos by NATALIE DANKO/Keys Weekly
