Maria Flora, The Lebanon Reporter, Ind.
Nov. 20—The young cast in Thorntown Elementary School's play included five Dorothy Gales and four Scarecrows eager to share the stage.
The elementary school drama club borrowed props and costumes and used an overhead projector for a spotlight.
And their families couldn't have been happier to see the third- through sixth-graders perform "The Wizard of Oz," last week.
Cast in costumes greeted their audience in the lobby Nov. 14, passing out programs and urging them in song to follow the yellow brick road to the gym. Then the lion, gatekeeper and rest of the cast hurried to crouch behind the props before the curtain rose.
The stage was a set of dazzling, shiny backdrops facing one half of the bleachers. Moms and dads, aunts and uncles, and siblings nestled in to cheer on their munchkins. Some families had more than one performer in the production.
Art teacher and drama coach Leisa Burgin said the 33 children practiced twice weekly for two months. They borrowed costumes and props from Western Boone High School, Granville Wells Elementary School and the Black Box Theatre in Lebanon.
On show night they shared a single spotlight and mic with good cheer and encouraged one another. If a line was forgotten, another performer helped, but that didn't happen much. They were more than prepared to give an energetic performance.
Dorothy No. 1, Lydia Boggs, opened with a solo performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." After that, Dorothys popped through the backdrop seamlessly, some taller, some shorter, all with blue gingham dresses and ruby red slippers.
Riley Mesa's Wicked Witch of the West melted with a flourish when one of the Dorothys doused her in blue construction paper water. And Glinda the Good Witch, played by Josephine McNamee, waved her wand over Dorothy No. 4 Avery Fairfield's blonde head to help her home.
A host of colorful monkeys, trees, and munchkins rounded out the cast.
Smiling families flooded the gym floor after the play, handing flowers to their cast members and posing for photos with them. Performers held baby cousins and endured congratulations and kisses from grandmothers.
Principal Abbie Hayden congratulated the players for their hard work and bravery in performing before a large audience.