Community members are invited to take a familiar, magical journey down the yellow brick road with Longmont High School’s spring musical, “The Wizard of Oz.”
Nearly 100 students and staff have spent months preparing for the production, which is set to run from April 13-15.
Abi Ferguson, a senior who’s playing Dorothy in the musical, said she’s excited about the upcoming shows.
“I’ve always loved performing, so having the opportunity to perform in front of a bigger audience is amazing,” she said.
The school chose the timeless classic because it’s warmed hearts for decades, said Dac Cederberg, the school’s theater director.
“Everybody knows the ruby slippers, everybody knows ‘there’s no place like home,’ everybody knows Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion — all of these things are huge cultural icons,” Cederberg said. “And with this show, what we’re going to be doing is just inducting a new generation of kids into those cultural touchstones.”
The classic 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” was adapted from L. Frank Baum’s book, which was published in 1900. The iconic story has become an important part of American culture.
“It truly connects all generations,” Cederberg said. “I’ve got kids here in the cast that have loved the movie, and their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents loved it too.”
Elementary school students from across the St. Vrain Valley School District are playing the Munchkins and Winkie Guards.
“I was so pleased and surprised with the number of kids that we did have come out,” the theater director said. “I think we have a huge reservoir of talent in this district and at Longmont High School.”
As schools across the district — and the country — continue to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic, theater can become a refuge for students, he said.
“I think that after the pandemic, so many students had such — and still have such — social struggles, after being isolated for so long,” Cederberg explained. “Theater is a great way to break out of those social bubbles and develop your skills in that way, and feel like you belong and you’re part of a community.”
Tickets for spring musical are $15 for adults, and $10 for students and seniors.
Cederberg is encouraging community members to attend the performances and support the student performers.
“You’re going to get to experience the raw and the vulnerable talent of young people, which is one of the main reasons why I became a high school theater teacher, and one of the most beautiful things about high school theater — high schoolers are fresh, they are open, they are vulnerable, and that just makes them particularly powerful performers,” he said.
