Constellation Stage and Screen premiered its 18th annual family holiday musical with “The Wizard of Oz,” on Dec. 12 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
Constellation’s production of the timeless musical will run Dec. 12-29. The cast includes dozens of local elementary school students, as well as professional actors from Bloomington and beyond. The annual family production entertains over 7,000 people each year, according to Cassie Hakken, marketing director with Constellation Stage and Screen.
This debut performance had a “pay what you will” ticket pricing, starting at $10 plus a $4 venue fee. This ensured the show was accessible to the whole community, according to Hakken.
Before the show, a small crowd gathered outside the doors to the historic Buskirk-Chumley theater, eagerly waiting to be let inside the packed lobby within.
Once inside, more lines of people were formed to scan tickets, and Constellation Stage and Screen Ta-shirts and buttons were being sold to the side.
Constellation collaborated with 567 elementary school students from the Bloomington area to create a “there’s no place like home for the holidays” art project, which culminated in a large rainbow structure made of student art outside of the theater doors.
“Here in Bloomington, there truly is no place like home,” Chad Rabinovitz, artistic director with Constellation, said in a brief speech before lights fully dimmed, “And it's our job as a nonprofit organization to make our home a better place.”
Thirteen-year-old Jade Geary was gifted a ticket to this production as a surprise for Christmas. As a lover of theater and a “The Wizard of Oz” fan, she especially liked the set design and costumes.
“I thought it was just amazing, and very, very pretty,” she said.
The set was framed by wooden fences against a bright blue sky, along with the signature yellow brick road. Dorothy, played by Betsy Scott, graduate of Carnegie Mellon University from New York City, kicked off the show with “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”
Todo, Dorothy’s canine sidekick, stole the hearts of the audience with his shenanigans, barking at anything moving and jumping up on the actors during their scenes. When he first pranced onto the stage, the theater loudly awed at the nine-month-old Maltipoo.
Aaron Pacentine, whose favorite movie is “The Wizard of Oz,” was amazed by the improvisational humor of this particular production. He has seen “The Wizard of Oz” on stage before and watches the movie every few months. Pacentine travelled from Indianapolis to see the production.
“I think it’s the most hilarious production I have ever seen” he said. “The actors and the dog all added to the enjoyment, because of the extra lines they brought.”
The show followed the same plot and sequence as the original film from 1939. The elementary-school cast members were featured as Munchkins and Winkies, alongside many local professional and IU theater actors who made up the rest of the ensemble.
Miss. Gulch and the Wicked Witch were played by Sarah Hund for her Constellation debut. Aunt Em and Glinda were played by Amanda Lawson, with her Glinda donning a long, blue wig and a light-up ball gown.
After intermission, the wooden fences were replaced with green, emerald walls, and there was a large triangular “door” in center stage printed with the word “OZ”.
Rapturous applause followed after the Wicked Witch “melted” into a hole at the top of the stage, leaving behind only her broomstick and hat. The musical concluded with Dorothy being twisted back to Kansas, ending with the iconic line “There is no place like home.”
For many, including Pacentine, the “The Wizard of Oz” is a reminder of home and the nostalgia of childhood, making it ideal for a holiday watch or re-watch.
“It’s like how people feel about comfort food,” Pacentine said. “If I had a bad day, I’ll sit down to watch it and feel better about it all,” he said.
