ACT 2! Community Theatre will be presenting “The Wizard of Oz,” which is their annual kids’ production, on Saturday, August 12 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, August 13 at 2 p.m. at the Ritz Theater in Blytheville.
This will be the ninth annual children’s production under the direction of Candie Groves and J.D. Harris, and the performers are local actors from throughout Mississippi County and the Bootheel of Missouri.
When the lights go up and Dorothy (Kaitlyn Widener) finds herself in the Land of Oz—being hailed by the Munchkins for saving them from the Wicked Witch of the East (Mariellen Brooke)—it is a pretty bewildering experience for a little girl from Kansas. But Dorothy bravely sets out to find a way back home and soon meets noble friends: the Scarecrow (Charlie Groves) seeking brains, the Cowardly Lion (Jett Robertson) who wants courage and the Tin Woodman (Mya Britman) who desires a heart above everything. These brave adventurers share terrifying experiences in the play dramatized by Anne Coulter Martens, based on the original story by L. Frank Baum.
Other actors appearing in the production include David Carney, Mollie Moore, Caleb White, Sky Shipley, Kylie Baker, Bobbie-Jo Brooke, Raven Slaughter, Grace Martin, Joanna Odom, Courtney Cable, Keely Bell, Macy Bell, Skylar Ashmore, Luke Carney, and Ethan Baker. This year’s student assistants to the directors are Madison Groves and Abby Ryan.
“The Wizard of Oz” is being produced by special arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.