Soldotna High School, in association with Triumvirate Theatre presented The Wizard of Oz over the weekend in the SOHI auditorium. The production showed four times from Thursday Nov. 30, to Saturday, Dec. 2, drawing a nearly full house every time.
As play patrons milled about outside the auditorium after the show each night, greeting and taking pictures with cast members, a consensus sentiment held sway over the room: no one had ever seen a high school play of this caliber before. Bouncing from one conversation to another, you would have heard mention of the eye-popping set design and quality, the extravagant costumes, the uncharacteristically extraordinary acting from high school students, or musings of beautiful singing performances.
On the whole, the play was outstanding. Play Director and Triumvirate Theatre President, Joe Rizzo, beamed when talking about what the accomplishment of his entire crew. “It’s not easy,” Rizzo said about putting on such an incredibly well known story. “But I will say that it’s interesting. You know, I’ve directed the show probably six times, so I know the script backwards and forwards. But a lot of people that come to it, they don’t know like the jokes that are in this thing and it’s super clever.”
The theatre certainly did ring with laughter many times. Familiar as folks may be with The Wizard of Oz, many of the play’s nuances shine through when seen brought to life with such superior quality.
Beyond the high performing arts standards achieved by the cast and crew, the sheer number of characters appearing on stage was staggering. According to Rizzo, 107 total kids crossed the stage during the play. At least a quarter of those were munchkins ranging from age five to twelve.
Not all of the play’s splendor was visual, though. A pit orchestra of musicians of all ages performed the musical accompaniment throughout the production, adding vibrancy and that unique flavor that can only come from live music.
“One of the really cool things about this is we had down in the pit some of the best musicians that we have on the Kenai, in fact probably in Alaska,” said Rizzo. “And it was really great that the adult musicians could work with the teenage musicians down there, because what a better way to learn like the craft.”
In all, The Wizard of Oz performance was a rousing success and a exciting preview of not only the talent in the area for the performing arts, but also what sort of quality productions the central peninsula can look forward to in the years to come.
