The Wizard of Oz

In its 50th anniversary year, the Barnstable High School Drama Club will present the MGM version of the most beloved family musical of all time, The Wizard of OZ.

The show opens March 28 at 7 PM with shows on March 29 at 7 PM and a 2 PM matinee on Sunday, March 30. Shows will continue on April 4 and 5 at 7 PM and Sunday April 6th at 2pm.

This will be the fifth time that the BHS Drama Club has presented The Wizard of Oz and longtime advisor John Sullivan’s fourth go-round as the wizard behind Wizard. (The club’s first production, back in the 70's, was directed by then club advisor Jim Ruberti.)

"We like to bring it back every now and then because everyone loves it so, including our members," said Sullivan, now in his 26th year at the helm of the club. He explained, “Many of the seniors in the current production began their careers on stage as poppies, Munchkins and flying monkeys in the 1999 production!"

The cast numbers over 300 students, “over one-sixth of the students at BHS,” Sullivan said proudly, “ and that doesn't count all the costume makers, backstage crew and musicians!”

“In addition, we have what I call our ‘parent support staff,’ that includes seamstresses, builders, the snack bar, and of course, all the poppy wranglers. That legion of behind-the-scenes workers means that there are about 400 people involved in this epic production.

And “epic” is a word that anyone who has ever seen a John Sullivan production knows will apply. His previous productions of OZ are renowned for their many different special effects and visual treats, ranging from green horses pulling Dorothy’s carriage into the Emerald City to the wizard's balloon flying away toward Kansas.

"We have always been very lucky to have students who are interested in creating all kinds of effects -- fake fire, confetti cannons, dry-ice smoke, strobe lights -- and this show uses them all!" Sullivan said proudly. The Drama Club has even hired "Flying by Foy," a company that specializes in flying people for Broadway and Las Vegas shows, which Sullivan most recently used in Peter Pan in 2003. "Since this is really the last Wizard of OZ I'll be doing with the Drama Club, I want it to be the best one I've ever directed," said Sullivan, who will be retiring from teaching in about three years.

The Drama Club scored a bit of a coup when it not only received special permission from Warner Bros. to use as its script the screenplay from the 1939 movie (It’s actually different from the stage version), but also to restore a missing musical number, “Ding Dong /Emerald City,” which will join “The Jitterbug” as a second song added to the BHS production. Both were cut from the movie after previews.

Both numbers will be choreographed by junior Cait Gardipe. "We held dance auditions in January and we have been dancing once or twice a week since that time," said Gardipe, who also plays Dorothy in one of the three casts.

The enormous sets for OZ are being built under the supervision of senior Steve Bearse, the play’s technical director, who is also designing the lighting and special effects. According to Sullivan, "Steve is the driving force behind this production. He's always here pushing to make things better."

Bearse explained that his interest has something to do with the past and with his legacy with the club: "I was a Munchkin and a flying monkey in The Wizard of OZ in 1999, so I have good memories, but I also want this production, which will be my last show with the Drama Club, to be as great as that one, or even better!"

Backstage Manager Dave Chapman, another senior, is also putting in extra time for this production. And he probably has to, as he will be responsible for over 17 different scene changes. "There are only two scenes we use twice. So we are changing scenery all the time," he said with a shrug and a smile.

Scenic Artists Vanessa Varjian, a senior, and Ethan Brown, a junior, are responsible for drawing out all the designs for Munchkinland and the Emerald City and for instructing the large painting crew what colors to paint the scenery. Vanessa has been designing and painting scenery since her freshman year, when she worked on both Seussical and Beauty and the Beast." She's the best scenic artist I've had in quite a long while, and she's faster than anyone I have ever seen!" said Sullivan of Varjian, who recently won a Gold Key in the Boston Globe’s scholastic art contest.

Everything about this production is large, even the famous "horse of a different color,” which Sullivan found at Paradise Stables in South Yarmouth. There he contracted with Sonny, a Belgian Draft Horse (second-largest breed of horse) to play the cabby's green horse in the Emerald City of OZ. Sullivan giggled as he recalled that when the Drama Club’s president, Matt Kohler, first set eyes on Sonny, he said that he wasn’t a horse, he was a dragon!

Sonny seems to have taken to the drama club like an experienced veteran. "Sonny visited the stage last week to check it out for himself," said Sullivan, “and he seems to like the space. And so far he hasn't asked for his own trailer stocked with special treats yet!"

Sonny joins several chickens, a pony, and of course, a cairn terrier (Guess who he’s playing!) who will all appear on stage in The Wizard of OZ.

The Wizard of OZ opens March 28 at 7 PM, with shows on March 29 at 7 PM and at 2 PM on Sunday, March 30. Shows will continue on April 4 and 5 at 7 PM and on Sunday, April 6 at 2 PM. Reservations are suggested and may be obtained by calling the OZ ticket line at (508) 771- 6246.