The UPHS Drama Club annually shows musicals, and this year, the cast and crew are gearing up to put on a show-stopping performance of the well-known play The Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz holds a strong legacy, as it’s widely known, especially with the recent attention drawn to the hit movie Wicked. The movie has been nominated for several awards, including 10 Oscars, such as Best Picture.
The Upper Perk cast wants to honor this legacy properly, making the bar even higher than before. With enthusiasm, head director Mrs. Austin told the WSJ, “These kids have been working on [the musical] since November, and they’re pouring every last vestige of their souls into telling you these fun and classic stories.”
Autumn Alderfer, who plays Dorothy, is no stranger to performing in the spotlight as she is a well-known figure for Upper Perk musicals including her role as Harriet in last year’s production of Emma! Despite this consideration, she still gets a little nervous.
“It’s a classic.” Aldefer told the WSJ, “So you really want to perform it…because it’s such a classic that everybody knows. So, if we mess up, people will be like, ‘oh, that’s not correct.’”
Senior Abigail Packard plays the role of Elphaba, more commonly known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Packard’s faces her own hurdle as her whole face will be under layers of emerald-green makeup. Packard laughed as she explained, “I’m not looking forward to my face and my whole neck. I’m gonna be sweating on stage.”
When asked about the set, Austin explained, “The concept for this is a pop-up book…There are three different versions of that stage play, and then there’s the movie, and then Wicked became a book, and then that became a play, and now it’s this big movie.”
Another pivotal part of the show is the emblematic Yellow Brick Road. The crew wanted to recreate the iconic component from the 2014 production. “The man who built the Yellow Brick Road 11 years ago returned and rebuilt it for us.” Mrs. Austin explained how it’s nice to see all of the people who are now thriving community members come back home – just like Dorothy, who, in the musical, finds her way back home.
Tickets are available now for $12.20 per person. The play is showing on Friday, March 7th at 7:00 pm, Saturday, March 8th at 7:00 pm, and Sunday, March 9th for the finale show at 2:00 pm. To purchase tickets and get more information, visit https://24782.recitalticketing.com and get yours now!
