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An Enrichment For the Lives in Your Community
by Mitchel Sommers, Executive Director – Community Theatre of Greensboro
by Mitchel Sommers, Executive Director – Community Theatre of Greensboro
Each of us has his or her own The Wizard of Oz story. Mine takes place in the Bronx on the 4th floor in our family's two bedroom apartment. It was absolutely freezing in our apartment and although our good sense should have told us to stay under the covers or huddled around the radiator, we wanted to see the yearly TV presentation. So Mom moved the TV into the kitchen, turned on the stove and we three boys put our feet in the oven and kept toasty while we watched our favorite movie. I cried every time Dorothy said good-bye, my older brother Michael was afraid of the Winkies and my little brother hid every time he saw the Witch's monkeys. Jump ahead to 1991 when the Community Theatre of Greensboro included Tams-Witmark's RSC version of Wizard in its main stage season. What a success! We had been looking for an anchor, a signature piece for our organization that was 42 years old. Should we try remounting Wizard next year? Would people come see it? Would new people come out to audition? Would there be returnees?
So we presented The Wizard of Oz in the fall of 1992 and in the fall of 1998 and in the fall of 2002 and in the fall of 2005 and are in the preproduction stage for the 14th annual production of The Wizard of Oz that always plays the two weekends before Thanksgiving week. "The same show?" "Every year?" "Don't you get sick of it?" My response always is the same. "Are you crazy? When they stop coming, we'll stop doing it!"
So why do we do it every year? Let me count the ways...
The Wizard of Oz has put The Community Theatre of Greensboro on the map in Greensboro and the Piedmont Triad. What is great about Wizard is that it is so universal. It is appealing to all because it is not related to a religious holiday or created for only a certain sect of our community. We all grew up on this story and the RSC version is like watching the movie live on stage! We also love it here at CTG (Community Theatre of Greensboro) because we wrap up our big show right before Thanksgiving and actually enjoy the holidays while all other presenters are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to grab the community's attention while their constituency is busy shopping, making travel plans for the holidays and in a whirlwind! More than the production itself, it is what The Wizard of Oz has done for our entire organization and our community that I want to share with you.
Each year over 250 people audition for the show. The cast is comprised of theatre veterans and five year olds making their theatrical debuts. Because of its universal appeal, auditionees are young, old, white, black, Latino, rich, poor, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, doctors and security guards, politicians and homemakers. Our cast and subsequently our audiences are a beautiful rainbow of who we are, The Community Theatre of Greensboro! Needless to say a production this size needs dozens of volunteers and where the kid goes, so does Mom, Dad, brother, sister, Grandma and Grandpa. We have family volunteers filling every need from backstage crew, fly crew, dressing room kid supervisors, ushers, seamstresses, load-in, strike, meals between shows and running merchandise tables.
We even had a special 10th year anniversary event where we invited a few Munchkins from the original MGM movie to meet and greet and sign autographs. Meinhardt Raabe, the original Coroner even got up on stage to recite his infamous, "As Coroner I must aver I thoroughly examined her..." I took him out to dinner that night and said he could have anything on the menu. He ordered one crab cake; no sides, no bread, no nothing. When I asked him to order more, he replied, "I'm a Munchkin. How much can I eat?"
The Wizard of Oz has become the cornerstone of our organization and the force behind our thriving youth programs, camps, classes and youth productions. Thousands of kids see our production each year and want to be part of the joy on stage. They sign up for our audition workshops, enroll in our summer camps and come see our other family shows throughout the season. Every girl in Greensboro dreams of being Dorothy, and nothing gives me more pleasure than watching a young lady of 16 who once was one of our 8 year old Lullaby League dancers, grace the stage with her soulful rendition of Over The Rainbow as Dorothy Gale.
But most of all, Wizard has enriched the lives of every family involved with this production year after year. A community event where the entire family can be involved as one. A safe haven for talented autistic children and kids with Down syndrome to shine. A production that sees no color, no religion, no economic barrier; an event that brings together talent from every corner of your community. Kids from the early audiences are now married and bringing their kids to see the show. The set might be a little different, the costumes and special effects have been enhanced, but that timeless tale of Dorothy and her journey Over The Rainbow keeps bringing them back year after year. As we gear up for our theatre's 60th anniversary, The Community Theatre of Greensboro feels blessed to have found Tams-Witmark's RSC version of this MGM classic, for The Wizard of Oz has truly shown us in Greensboro that "there is no place like home!"
So we presented The Wizard of Oz in the fall of 1992 and in the fall of 1998 and in the fall of 2002 and in the fall of 2005 and are in the preproduction stage for the 14th annual production of The Wizard of Oz that always plays the two weekends before Thanksgiving week. "The same show?" "Every year?" "Don't you get sick of it?" My response always is the same. "Are you crazy? When they stop coming, we'll stop doing it!"
So why do we do it every year? Let me count the ways...
The Wizard of Oz has put The Community Theatre of Greensboro on the map in Greensboro and the Piedmont Triad. What is great about Wizard is that it is so universal. It is appealing to all because it is not related to a religious holiday or created for only a certain sect of our community. We all grew up on this story and the RSC version is like watching the movie live on stage! We also love it here at CTG (Community Theatre of Greensboro) because we wrap up our big show right before Thanksgiving and actually enjoy the holidays while all other presenters are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to grab the community's attention while their constituency is busy shopping, making travel plans for the holidays and in a whirlwind! More than the production itself, it is what The Wizard of Oz has done for our entire organization and our community that I want to share with you.
Each year over 250 people audition for the show. The cast is comprised of theatre veterans and five year olds making their theatrical debuts. Because of its universal appeal, auditionees are young, old, white, black, Latino, rich, poor, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, doctors and security guards, politicians and homemakers. Our cast and subsequently our audiences are a beautiful rainbow of who we are, The Community Theatre of Greensboro! Needless to say a production this size needs dozens of volunteers and where the kid goes, so does Mom, Dad, brother, sister, Grandma and Grandpa. We have family volunteers filling every need from backstage crew, fly crew, dressing room kid supervisors, ushers, seamstresses, load-in, strike, meals between shows and running merchandise tables.
We even had a special 10th year anniversary event where we invited a few Munchkins from the original MGM movie to meet and greet and sign autographs. Meinhardt Raabe, the original Coroner even got up on stage to recite his infamous, "As Coroner I must aver I thoroughly examined her..." I took him out to dinner that night and said he could have anything on the menu. He ordered one crab cake; no sides, no bread, no nothing. When I asked him to order more, he replied, "I'm a Munchkin. How much can I eat?"
The Wizard of Oz has become the cornerstone of our organization and the force behind our thriving youth programs, camps, classes and youth productions. Thousands of kids see our production each year and want to be part of the joy on stage. They sign up for our audition workshops, enroll in our summer camps and come see our other family shows throughout the season. Every girl in Greensboro dreams of being Dorothy, and nothing gives me more pleasure than watching a young lady of 16 who once was one of our 8 year old Lullaby League dancers, grace the stage with her soulful rendition of Over The Rainbow as Dorothy Gale.
But most of all, Wizard has enriched the lives of every family involved with this production year after year. A community event where the entire family can be involved as one. A safe haven for talented autistic children and kids with Down syndrome to shine. A production that sees no color, no religion, no economic barrier; an event that brings together talent from every corner of your community. Kids from the early audiences are now married and bringing their kids to see the show. The set might be a little different, the costumes and special effects have been enhanced, but that timeless tale of Dorothy and her journey Over The Rainbow keeps bringing them back year after year. As we gear up for our theatre's 60th anniversary, The Community Theatre of Greensboro feels blessed to have found Tams-Witmark's RSC version of this MGM classic, for The Wizard of Oz has truly shown us in Greensboro that "there is no place like home!"
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