The yellow brick road of Oz can be found right here at Upper Perk High School. This year’s musical, The Wizard of Oz, is based on the book by L. Frank Baum. The plot of the musical features a young girl going on an adventure in the land of Oz with her newfound friends. 

The Wizard of Oz is a classic musical and is the first musical at Upper Perk to be repeated. The play was originally done 11 years ago. Mrs. Austin told the Walt Street Journal, “We wanted to do a reunion show where those students who were previously in the show… could come back to the community to see the program’s evolution.”  

The musical will only be performed a handful of times, but months of work go into it. The cast has rehearsals every weekday from November till opening night in March, with specific dance rehearsals on Fridays and vocal rehearsals on Mondays. The musical’s set is being designed by a student designer, Thomas Miani, and artistic director Sophia Lynam. 

  The directors include Mrs. Austin, an English teacher, and Ms. Phillips, a social studies teacher. Nolan Benner is the musical director, and Jen Dancey is the dance choreographer. Mr. Austin serves as the technical director.

While performing isn’t for everyone, the whole community is encouraged to attend the multiple shows. Shows begin on Friday, March 7th, and runs through Sunday, March 9th.